Sunday night’s midnight SportsCenter broadcast, running into Monday, April 13, saw Rich Eisen return to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, his first time back on ESPN’s main campus in over two decades.
The anchor from SportCenter’s glory days spent seven years hosting ESPN’s flagship program, primarily alongside Stuart Scott, before departing in 2003 to help launch NFL Network. The next 22 years of Eisen’s career were spent building The Rich Eisen Show into a staple across DirecTV, Fox Sports Radio, Peacock, and The Roku Channel. He returned to the ESPN family last fall, under a licensing deal that centered his show on ESPN Radio’s noon slot and on Disney+ and ESPN DTC.
Last August, Eisen hosted the 11 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter for the first time since his departure in 2003, in a nostalgic return that was not only well-received but also drew a 67 percent ratings increase from the 11 p.m. SportsCenter‘s year-to-date average. While he has since returned to the SportCenter studio for periodic special editions, the productions have all been done in Los Angeles.
“I’m fired up to return to my old stomping grounds to host an old school SportsCenter on such a big sports night just like back in the day,” Eisen said in a statement ahead of his return to Bristol.
Sunday’s broadcast saw ESPN follow the blueprint from last August’s successful return and lean into the nostalgia with a fully retrofitted studio.
Eisen opened the show with a throwback intro and trumpeting that “this show is kind of all about throwbacks” while previewing SportsCenter‘s material from a jampacked Sunday that saw Rory McIlroy win his second consecutive green jacket, the NBA regular season end, and even NHL legends Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face off for what may have been the last time in their storied careers.
“Well, hello there. Who says you can’t go home again?” Eisen quipped as he closed out his open.” 23 years after the last time I was fortunate to say this from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. Welcome to SportsCenter. I am Rich Eisen.”
SportsCenter and ESPN have undergone drastic changes since Eisen was a regular anchor, but Sunday night was a great callback to the heyday of sports media.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.