On Monday morning, ESPN announced that longtime on-air personality Dr. Jerry Punch has signed a new contract that will see him remain with the Connecticut-based cable network for years to come. As part of the deal, Punch’s duties will involve play-by-play on college basketball and college football games, in addition to pit reporting duties for Verizon IndyCar Series races on ABC. Punch’s first assignment as part of his new deal will be play-by-play of an Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Basketball game between Murray State and Belmont University in January on ESPNU.
Punch is very happy to continue his relationship with ESPN despite the loss of NASCAR.
“ESPN has been my home for a long time and I’m grateful for the opportunities presented to me to remain part of the team,” Punch said in an official press release. “I love the passion of college sports and look forward to helping bring those stories to our viewers and to reconnecting with the college coaches and staffs I’ve enjoyed relationships with over the years.”
According to ESPN’s release, Punch is currently the sixth longest-tenured on-air personality with the network. Punch has worked nearly continuously for ESPN since 1984, when Getty Oil still owned a majority stake in the then-fledgling cable channel.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.