Bill Rasmussen, ESPN Founder.com during the 2011 World Congress of Sports on March 30, 2011 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
Bill Rasmussen, the founder of the 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, has died at the age of 93 from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, the network said in a media release today.
The backstory:
Born on October 15, 2026, in Chicago, Rasmussen was an athlete as a child who later took an interest in business and economics, graduating from DePauw University in 1954, later receiving a MBA from Rutgers. He later found work in public relations and sports broadcasting, which sparked his interest in launching ESPN.
Dig deeper:
Along with his son Scott, Rasmussen launched the sports-based cable network in 1979 as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, widely known as ESPN. The network helped strip away the limits of traditional sports and reshaped the media landscape in the years to come as the "Worldwide Leader in Sports."
Rasmussen and his son began exploring satellite technology in the late 1970s and soon developed the concept. They launched the network on Sept. 7, 1979 with their flagship program, SportsCenter, reaching 1.4 million homes.
What they're saying:
"Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s – key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day."
What they're saying:
Long-time anchor, Chris Berman, who joined the network three weeks after the launch, also commented, saying, "Bill was our George Washington and a good friend," said Berman. "He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn’t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill’s legacy."
What we know:
Rasmussen left the network after a couple of years, but remained active with start-up ventures in sports and media.
Rasmussen received numerous awards and recognition in his career: a Connecticut Sports Museum Hall of Famer, The Sports 100 honoree, named to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025, Rutgers University’s Wall of Fame in 2022, DePauw University’s Media Wall of Fame in 2012 and receiving the Order of Achievement from Lambda Chi Alpha.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by ESPN. This story was reported from Orlando.