Whit Watson is the primary studio host for Sun Sports and FSN Florida. Since returning to Florida in 2003, he has anchored many of the networks' most popular series, including Sun Sports' daylong CHEVY TAILGATE WEEKEND block of college football programming, including REC WAREHOUSE COLLEGE KICKOFF, SEMINOLE & GATOR POSTGAMES PRESENTED BY GEICO and TAILGATE OVERTIME PRESENTED BY AT&T on Sun Sports, and the Emmy Award-winning CHEVY FLORIDA FISHING REPORT, which he co-hosts with Capt. Rick Murphy. Watson also hosts a variety of specialty shows from the Sun Sports/FSN Florida studios, including the all-access series, UNDER THE LIGHTS, and IN MY OWN WORDS.As a play-by-play announcer, he has called and continues to call the action on numerous games/events on Sun Sports and FSN Florida, including college basketball, college baseball, the FHSAA High School Basketball and Football Finals, Arena League Football, and more. In addition, he has served as a sideline reporter and pre-game host for select Orlando Magic and Miami Heat games on Sun Sports. Watson also contributes his own entertaining and informative blog on the Sun Sports & FSN Florida website commenting on the latest sports news in Florida.
Watson joined Sun Sports after nearly seven years as an anchor at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut (April 1997-August 2003). There, he hosted evening and overnight editions of SportsCenter, and was featured during prime news hours on ESPNews, including intermission and halftime reports for hockey and college football/basketball. He also hosted a variety of specialty shows, including RPM2Night, NBA2Night, and NBA Matchup, and filled in as a host for ESPN Radio.
A native of Winter Park, Florida, Watson was both a National Merit Scholar and a Cornell National Scholar at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where his broadcasting career began in radio at WVBR-FM (1990-1993). Having served as the station's sports director and morning sports anchor, Watson moved back home to Orlando upon graduation and joined the broadcasting department of the Orlando Magic as an intern. Later hired by the team as a television producer and radio reporter, he created special features for Magic TV programming, worked on the Magic's local weekly magazine show, and was the sideline reporter and secondary host for Magic Radio Network game broadcasts (1993-1997).
Watson's diverse freelance broadcasting background includes stints with several Orlando radio stations, play by play in minor league baseball, radio coverage of PGA and LPGA tour events, and production support for soccer's World Cup. A 1989 graduate of Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park and a current member of that school's Board of Trustees, Watson was the 2007 recipient of the school's Distinguished Alumni Award. He currently resides in his hometown with his wife Tracey and their two children.
Photograph courtesy of Sun Sports/FSN Florida.
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