Award-Winning ESPN Sportscaster
Chris Berman is one of America’s most respected, popular, and beloved award-winning sportscasters of his time. A legend in the industry, Berman has also been recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his peers, and countless other organizations for his exceptional contributions to sports broadcasting. With his trademark combination of genuine enthusiasm, knowledge, and wit, he has come to embody ESPN in its dedication to entertaining and informing sports fans across the country. He is best known for his signature delivery of highlights in every sport, most notably on NFL Sundays.
As a studio host, anchor and commentator, Berman is known for balancing his in-depth sports reports in an upbeat and easygoing manner, without sacrificing content. Reporting with ample amounts of humor and ebullience, Berman says, "Whatever lightness I try to add, I never let fun interfere with the news. That comes first. Sports should be fun, and I want viewers to share in the enjoyment I get from the games. But I also owe it to those same viewers to be thoroughly prepared and to know what I'm talking about, or not talking about."
In addition to his wide-ranging role in ESPN’s NFL coverage, Berman also served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN Major League Baseball games from 1990-2016. He has also covered the U.S. Open, including the “NFL PrimeTime of golf,” the nightly U.S. Open highlights show, and brought his passion and appreciation for hockey to the 2003 and 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs as co-host of telecasts on ESPN and ABC.
One of sports television’s brightest and most recognizable personalities, the versatile Berman has been selected National Sportscaster of the Year six times by the National Sports Media Association. Berman, who in 1989 became the first cable sportscaster to win National Sportscaster of the Year, ranks second among sportscasters in winning this award. Berman and his various shows have won 10 Emmy Awards and 12 CableACEs. In 2010, Berman received the distinguished Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.
Other notable achievements include induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the National Sports Media Association (formerly NSSA) Hall of Fame, and honored with the Newseum Institute’s Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media – the first sportscaster ever honored. Berman has played himself in 15 motion pictures: The Longest Yard, Little Big League, Necessary Roughness, Draft Day, The Waterboy, Grown Ups 2, Tracktown, Eddie, The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon, Big Daddy, Second String, Even Steven, Kingpin, The Program, Celtic Pride – and on several television shows including Sesame Street, Spin City, The Jersey and Arli$$. He has also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Berman graduated from Brown University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. In November 1991, he was inducted into the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame, and in May 2007, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his alma mater.