ESPN makes decision on another top college football veteran

Lee Fitting, who was with ESPN for 25 years and oversaw college football and NFL programs on the network, is out

James Parks | Aug 21, 2023

ESPN makes decision on another top college football veteran /

It's not only the people who appear on TV who are losing their jobs at ESPN recently, but also the brains behind the scenes, as former senior vice president Lee Fitting is no longer with the Worldwide Leader in Sports, according to multiple reports.

Fitting started with the channel in 1996 as a production assistant and worked his way up the ladder, becoming one of ESPN's most influential decision makers. He was instrumental in the success of its college football flagship program "College GameDay" in addition to NFL programming like Monday Night Football.

Not long after news of his leaving the network was leaked, Fitting's biography was scrubbed from the official ESPN website.

His departure is noteworthy given his influence over ESPN's football programming that also included coverage of the College Football Playoff and production of the SEC Network. Fitting won six Emmy Awards during his time on GameDay.

ESPN is making cuts

Disney, the company that owns ESPN, had planned to cut around 7,000 jobs from around the company overall and the sports network has been looking to get rid of mid-range personnel earning anywhere from $2 million to $5 million per year.

Veteran broadcaster Gene Wojciechowski and former Georgia football player turned analyst David Pollack were also let go by the network this offseason.

One person staying around is Chris Fowler, a voice of college football on ESPN who hosted the College GameDay show from 1990 to 2014 before moving into the broadcast booth as the network's main play-by-play announcer, including for the national championship, alongside color analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

ESPN initially looked to make cuts among those workers in the middle of the ranks but it was expected more cuts were to come involving some other behind the scenes people, and as we now know, many more famous personalities who appear on the air.

Outkick first reported news of Fitting leaving the network.

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