After 22 years as one of the top anchors at ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter franchise, Scott Van Pelt says he sees the end in sight.
“I’ve been doing this a long time where, look, I don’t want to do that forever,” Van Pelt said on the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast. “And that would lead to the natural, ‘What would you want to do?’ I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Van Pelt has been the solo host of the network’s midnight ET SportsCenter since 2015, where he presides over post-game interviews and delivers his brand of thoughtful, often passionate commentary.
Even given that declaration, Van Pelt emphasized, “I still enjoy it.”
Van Pelt offered a recent example from this year’s NBA Finals as the Denver Nuggets celebrated their victory.
“Talking to Jamal Murray when you can ask him, ‘From a scale of 0 to 10, 0 I’m sober and 10 I’m wrecked, what are you?’ and he gives you the Mutombo [finger] wag because he’s just been playing 48 minutes, he has 0% body fat and he’s been chugging champagne. He’s probably bombed, but you wanna give him an out so we can frame the conversation here.”
Asked whether he sees himself doing SportsCenter for another three, five or 10-year window, Van Pelt replied, “No chance I’m doing this that long.”
Traina, following up, asked, “You don’t think you’re doing SportsCenter three more years?
“Nah. I don’t think,” said Van Pelt. “My contract doesn’t run that long, and there are conversations to be had about what all is part of it. At some point you just gotta step aside and let somebody else have it.”
Should he decide to give up the SC desk, Van Pelt would still be one of the network’s top golf correspondents, covering major tournaments such as the Masters and The Open Championship.