SEC
Southeastern ConferenceESPN announced Wednesday that Brent Musberger and Jesse Palmer will be the lead football commentating team on SEC Network broadcasts.
The SEC Network will launch Aug. 14, with its first football telecast occurring Aug. 28, when Texas A&M visits South Carolina.
"Brent Musburger is a cultural icon who has been guiding fans through many of the most spectacular sports moments for decades," ESPN executive vice president John Wildhack said in a release. "His big-game performance and unmistakable style will elevate our football coverage on the SEC Network. Serving as the definitive play-by-play voice for this major network launch represents an exciting new chapter in his legendary career and reinforces our commitment and investment in the SEC Network."
Musberger has spent more than 20 years at ESPN and ABC and was recently ABC's play-by-play commentator for Saturday night games. He will work one of the SEC Network's three Saturday telecasts each week this fall before spending next winter resuming his current role of calling Big 12 basketball games.
Palmer quarterbacked at Florida from 1997 to 2000 and was a backup for the New York Giants from 2001 to '04. He was briefly in the CFL before turning to broadcasting.
"I am honored and humbled at the rare opportunity to help launch a national network of this magnitude and to do so alongside Brent, a legend within the sport and the industry," Palmer said. "Playing in the SEC represented four of the greatest years of my life, and I feel incredibly fortunate to now have the opportunity to cover this great conference. Year after year their on-field success continues the conference's standard of excellence, and their passionate fan base is second to none."
The SEC Network previously announced Joe Tessitore, Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum as commentators.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.