Todd Harris is a play-by-play announcer for ESPNU

ESPNU

ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...

 college football coverage and Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

 airing on Versus

Versus (TV channel)

Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...

.

Prior to those duties, he was the lead play-by-play announcer for ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 and 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....

's coverage of the Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series. He has also called motocross, supercross, and X Games

X Games

The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....

 coverage on ESPN, and has been the lead announcer for the World's Strongest Man

World's Strongest Man

The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...

 competition.

Biography

Harris has recently been added to NBC Sports coverage of the Dew tour, both Summer and Winter and the NBC family of networks winter sports coverage.

Early life and career

In the past, Harris' duties at other networks have included covering the NBA

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...

 playoffs for TNT

Turner Network Television

Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...

, and being a commentator for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's special high-definition

High-definition television

High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

. Harris has now been popping up on NBC after his stellar showing at the Vancouver games. After he and Jonny Mosely were the best announce team for NBC , Harris is the new host of the Dew Action Sports tour for NBC Sports as well as the World of Adventure Sports and will host all of NBC's freestyle skiing and snowboarding for the next few years. Harris will also be a part of NBC's coverage of the London Olympic Games in 2012

Harris is a 1990 graduate of Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

, graduating with honors with a major of Broadcast Journalism. He is a Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 native but grew up in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 were he was a standout high school athlete. He began his broadcasting career as a weekend anchor/reporter for WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, KY.

IRL career

In 2004, Harris began his involvement with ABC and ESPN's coverage of the IRL. He was assigned to be a pit reporter for their IndyCar Series coverage after joining the network for motocross and X Games BMX coverage.

In 2005, Harris was promoted to be ABC and ESPN's new lap-by-lap announcer of the IRL, replacing Paul Page

Paul Page

Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who was the lead announcer for ABC Sports' coverage of CART and the IRL from 1988 to 2004. He currently is the lead announcer for NHRA.-Early life and career:...

. Other race fans believe Disney has made bad calls with announcers, first with Bob Jenkins

Bob Jenkins

Bob Jenkins is an American television and radio sports announcer with NBC Sports Network, also known for his work at ABC and ESPN calling IndyCar and NASCAR telecasts. He is currently the lead commentator for the IndyCar Series on NBC Sports Network.-ESPN and ABC:Bob Jenkins was born in Richmond,...

 leaving the network after the 2003 season, and also with pit reporters Jack Arute, Jr.

Jack Arute

Jack Arute, Jr. currently covers the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He is the president of the Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut...

, son of the Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway owner, and Jerry Punch

Jerry Punch

Dr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...

, who substituted for Jenkins frequently on NASCAR broadcasts in the late 1990s, including Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s

Dale Earnhardt

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

 last NASCAR win in 2000, whom some believed should have taken the role of lap-by-lap.

ESPN keeps Harris for other work

Harris did not return to the IRL booth in 2006. Brian Kenny

Brian Kenny (sportscaster)

Brian Kenny is a sportscaster for the MLB Network. He previously worked for ESPN, where he most recently anchored the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter for ESPN, served as the host of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights...

 had been rumored to return to the booth, but it was announced that veteran Marty Reid

Marty Reid

Marty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...

 would fill the position, with Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace

Russell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...

 joining the booth to make it a three-man booth. Harris would return to the ESPN college football sideline reporting in 2006, joining veteran play-by-play man Gary Thorne

Gary Thorne

Gary Thorne is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC, working Major League Baseball, College football and Frozen Four hockey contests. He is also the television play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles...

 and analyst Andre Ware

Andre Ware

Andre Ware is a sports analyst and commentator and a former American football player. He was the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner as a quarterback for the University of Houston, becoming the first African-American quarterback to win the award. In the 1990 NFL Draft, Ware was the first round selection ...

. Then covered horse racing

Thoroughbred Racing on ESPN

ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of Thoroughbred racing currently consists of NTRA Racing to the Kentucky Derby, The Breeders' Cup on ESPN. In addition, ESPN on ABC broadcasts a portion of the Breeders Cup. Among its regulars on its horse racing telecasts are hosts Joe Tessitore and Kenny Mayne, along...

 in 2006. Harris is obviously a favorite at espn however in recent years he has seemed to be demoted to espnu for college football and basketball. He is perhaps best known for his years on ABC with legendary voice Keith Jackson

Keith Jackson

Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...

 and Dan Fouts

Dan Fouts

Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...

. Harris was the always hustling sideline reporter and it was evident that both Jackson and Fouts liked having him on the field. It was thought that Harris would be an heir apparent to Jackson's spot in the Pac 10 until ABC was merged with ESPN and Bristol management decided not to give Harris further high profile games opting for women on the field on all of their college football and basketball games. Harris was also a regular for 2 years on the IRL series but again was removed after the ABC Sports deconstruction and now Marty Reid is the voice of IRL coverage.

Both conversations can be found on this page. Harris' is listed fourth, Zipay's right below. However, you must have a subscription to listen.