Stuart Scott
Encyclopedia
Stuart Scott is a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN's
SportsCenter
.
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
, and went to college at the University of North Carolina
. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity. Scott was part of the on-air talent at the student-run radio station WXYC
. He graduated from UNC in 1987 with a bachelor of arts
in speech communication
. Following graduation, Scott worked as a reporter at WPDE-TV
in Florence, South Carolina
, from 1988–1990 and at WRAL-TV
5 in Raleigh, North Carolina
, from 1990–1993. He also worked at WESH
, an NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida
, from 1993–1995.
at the network's launch in 1993 as the host of SportsNight
. He currently works for the ESPN
family of networks as an anchor for SportsCenter
episodes as well as National Football League
and National Basketball Association
programming. Scott also appears in each issue of ESPN the Magazine
, with his 'Holla' column. In his work at ESPN he has interviewed top professional athletes such as Tiger Woods
and Michael Jordan
as well as two American Presidents, then-Senator Barack Obama
and Bill Clinton
.
and Keith Olbermann
, such as "holla at a playa when you see him in the street!", "he's as cool as the other side of the pillow", "call him butter, he's on a roll" and "Boo Yah!". He was parodied on Saturday Night Live
by Tim Meadows and Finesse Mitchell
.
, NFL Live
, NFL PrimeTime
, and NFL Countdown, while his NBA work includes hosting the NBA Finals
and NBA Fastbreak
. He also has hosted a number of ESPN game shows, including Stump the Schwab
and Dream Job, and hosted David Blaine's
Drowned Alive special.
mini-camp when he was doing a special for ESPN. Towards the end of a day at camp, Stuart was hit in the eye by a football thrown from a football throwing machine. He underwent surgery that night and was out of work for a few months, and has a ptosis
, or drooping eyelid, because of this accident.
–Miami Dolphins
Monday Night Football
game on November 26, 2007. The surgery also discovered a malignancy that required an additional surgery to remove possibly cancerous tissue. He returned a month later and continued on-air broadcasting during recommended preventive chemotherapy. ESPN President George Bodenheimer
said "Stuart is approaching this fight with the same passion and energy we see on air... He knows he has our full support and we look forward to the day where this is all behind him. ."
Television
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
.
Early life and career
Scott attended Richard J. Reynolds High SchoolRichard J. Reynolds High School
Richard J. Reynolds High School now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts is a high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Named for R. J. Reynolds, the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the...
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, and went to college at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity. Scott was part of the on-air talent at the student-run radio station WXYC
WXYC
WXYC is a radio station broadcasting a college radio format. Licensed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, the station is run by students of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The station is currently owned by Student Educational Broadcasting...
. He graduated from UNC in 1987 with a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in speech communication
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
. Following graduation, Scott worked as a reporter at WPDE-TV
WPDE-TV
WPDE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Carolina's Pee Dee and Grand Strand areas licensed to Florence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter on Pee Dee Church Road in Dillon...
in Florence, South Carolina
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
, from 1988–1990 and at WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle...
5 in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, from 1990–1993. He also worked at WESH
WESH
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by...
, an NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, from 1993–1995.
ESPN
Scott joined ESPN2ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
at the network's launch in 1993 as the host of SportsNight
Sportsnight
Sportsnight was a midweek BBC television sports programme that ran from 1968 until 1997.-Sportsview:Sportsnight was a successor to Sportsview which started on 8 April 1954. Sportsview was devised by Paul Fox, later Controller of BBC1 and Peter Dimmock was the original host for a decade...
. He currently works for the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
family of networks as an anchor for SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
episodes as well as National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
programming. Scott also appears in each issue of ESPN the Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
, with his 'Holla' column. In his work at ESPN he has interviewed top professional athletes such as Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
and Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
as well as two American Presidents, then-Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Style
At SportsCenter Scott was frequently teamed with fellow anchor Rich Eisen. He became well known for his use of unique catch phrases, following in the SportsCenter tradition begun by Dan PatrickDan Patrick
Daniel Patrick Pugh , professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio...
and Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
, such as "holla at a playa when you see him in the street!", "he's as cool as the other side of the pillow", "call him butter, he's on a roll" and "Boo Yah!". He was parodied on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
by Tim Meadows and Finesse Mitchell
Finesse Mitchell
Alfred Langston "Finesse" Mitchell is an American actor, author and stand-up comedian. From 2003-2006, he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Mitchell has also appeared on such television shows as Showtime at the Apollo, BET's ComicView, Comedy Central Presents and NBC's Late Friday.-Life...
.
Past television shows
Besides SportsCenter, Scott has been the host of a number of television shows. His NFL work includes NFL MatchupNFL Matchup
NFL Matchup is a National Football League preview show that airs every week during the regular season and playoffs. As of 2006, the official name is State Farm NFL Matchup, and it is produced by NFL Films....
, NFL Live
NFL Live
NFL Live is a National Football League studio show, currently airing Monday through Friday at 4:00 p.m and 12:30 a.m ET on the ESPN cable network. Formerly known as NFL 2Night, the program is the only NFL-related studio program to air during the week...
, NFL PrimeTime
NFL Primetime
NFL Primetime is a sports television program that has aired on ESPN since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own SportsCenter, featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL.-Format :...
, and NFL Countdown, while his NBA work includes hosting the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
and NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak is a National Basketball Association studio program that airs on ESPN. The program used to air as part of ESPN's The Trifecta. Formerly known as NBA 2Night, the program, hosted by various ESPN personalities, provides highlights, analysis and updates from the night's NBA games...
. He also has hosted a number of ESPN game shows, including Stump the Schwab
Stump the Schwab
Stump the Schwab is an American game show that aired on ESPN Classic . The show ran from July 8, 2004 to September 29, 2006 and featured three contestants trying to stump Howie Schwab, who was the first statistician ESPN ever had. Stuart Scott was the show's host...
and Dream Job, and hosted David Blaine's
David Blaine
David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
Drowned Alive special.
Eye Incident
Stuart was injured on April 3, 2002 in New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
mini-camp when he was doing a special for ESPN. Towards the end of a day at camp, Stuart was hit in the eye by a football thrown from a football throwing machine. He underwent surgery that night and was out of work for a few months, and has a ptosis
Ptosis (eyelid)
Ptosis is a drooping of the upper or lower eyelid. The drooping may be worse after being awake longer, when the individual's muscles are tired. This condition is sometimes called "lazy eye", but that term normally refers to amblyopia...
, or drooping eyelid, because of this accident.
Appendectomy
Scott had an emergency appendectomy in Pittsburgh after becoming ill while covering the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
–Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game on November 26, 2007. The surgery also discovered a malignancy that required an additional surgery to remove possibly cancerous tissue. He returned a month later and continued on-air broadcasting during recommended preventive chemotherapy. ESPN President George Bodenheimer
George Bodenheimer
George Bodenheimer is the current president of ESPN Inc. and of ABC's sports division, known since 2006 as ESPN on ABC. He has been president of ESPN since November 19, 1998 and of the former ABC Sports since March 3, 2003...
said "Stuart is approaching this fight with the same passion and energy we see on air... He knows he has our full support and we look forward to the day where this is all behind him. ."
Cancer
After the first round of cancer that was found as a result of his appendectomy, he once again was affected by cancer in 2011. The nature and prognosis of his cancer are not publicly known.Filmography
Movies- He Got GameHe Got GameHe Got Game is a 1998 American sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a prison inmate convicted for killing his wife...
(1998) - Enchanted (1998)
- DrumlineDrumline (film)Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline , was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps...
(2002) - Love Don't Cost A ThingLove Don't Cost a ThingLove Don't Cost a Thing may refer to:*"Love Don't Cost a Thing" , a 2001 song by Jennifer Lopez*Love Don't Cost a Thing , a 2003 film starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian...
(2003) - Mr. 3000Mr. 3000Mr. 3000 is a 2004 American sports comedy film starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 hits.-Plot:...
(2004) - The Longest YardThe Longest Yard (2005 film)The Longest Yard is a 2005 American sports comedy film remake of the 1974 film of the same name. Adam Sandler plays the protagonist, Paul Crewe, a disgraced former professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, who is coerced to form a team from the prison inmates to play...
(2005) - The Game PlanThe Game Plan (film)The Game Plan is a 2007 family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and starring The Rock. This is the last film in which Johnson uses his ring name "The Rock." This is also the last Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista, due to Disney semi-retiring the name in May 2007, making all other...
(2007) - Just WrightJust WrightJust Wright is a 2010 romantic comedy film starring Common and Queen Latifah that tells the story of a physical therapist who falls in love with a pro basketball player. The film received mixed reviews.-Plot:...
(2010)
Television
- Arli$$Arliss-Criticism:This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its...
(2000) - Soul Food (2003)
- One on OneOne on One (TV series)One on One is an American sitcom that aired on the now-defunct UPN from its September 3, 2001 premiere until May 15, 2006. The series stars Flex Alexander as a single sportscaster, who becomes a full-time dad when his ex-wife decides to accept a job out of the country and his teenage daughter...
(2004)