Behind the Mic: ESPN Adds Tom Crean, John Thompson III to College Hoops Team; HBO Re-Ups Jim Lampley

Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, Cameron McCormick will become an official member featured on Revolution Golf and Golf Channel, ESPN signs Tom Crean, John Thompson III Jimmy Dykes, Caron Butler and Robbie Hummel, ESPN hires Greg Wyshynski, Pac-12 Networks gives extensions to Bill Walton and several others, HBO Sports enters into a new agreement with Jim Lampley, Tennis Channel adds Hall of Fame coach Nick Bollettieri to its roster, and more.

…Cameron McCormick, 2015 PGA Teacher of the Year and long-time swing coach of three-time Major Champion Jordan Spieth, will become an official member of the team of expert instructors featured on Revolution Golf and Golf Channel. McCormick also will join Martin Hall, Sean Foley, Martin Chuck and Andrew Rice as featured faculty members on Revolution Golf, one of the largest direct-to-consumer digital platforms in golf, which was added to NBC Sports Group’s portfolio in August. By connecting golfers of all skill levels to world-class instruction, Revolution Golf will feature McCormick’s videos as the first series on the website before the end of the year…

…Fox Sports has announced UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will join blow-by-blow announcer John Gooden to call FS1 UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BRUNSON VS. MACHIDA live Octagon-side from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday, Oct. 28. Heidi Androl adds reports and interviews fighters onsite. Victor Davila and UFC bantamweight Erik “Goyito” Perez have the call in Spanish on Fox Deportes.

In addition, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans joins fellow analyst Kenny Florian in Fox Sports’ Los Angeles studio with host Karyn Bryant for WEIGH-IN, PREFIGHT and POSTFIGHT shows. Coverage begins on FS1 Friday, Oct. 27 (4:00 p.m. ET) with the UFC WEIGH-IN SHOW with Bryant, Evans and Florian in studio and Androl will be reporting onsite…

…ESPN has signed former coaches Tom Crean, John Thompson III and Jimmy Dykes, and former college standouts Caron Butler (UConn) and Robbie Hummel (Purdue) will be added to ESPN’s robust lineup of commentators.

Crean, a former head coach at Indiana and Marquette, brings more than 15 years of coaching experience and perspective to ESPN, contributing as a studio analyst on ESPN and ESPN2 throughout the season. He will also serve as a game analyst on a number of games. Thompson III will work as a game analyst on a number of men’s college basketball matchups across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The former BIG EAST Coach of the Year (2013) coached at Georgetown for more than 10 years, garnering three conference regular season championships and leading the Hoyas to the Final Four in 2007. He was recently named an assistant coach for the USA World Cup qualifying team alongside fellow ESPN colleague Jeff Van Gundy, who will serve as head coach. Dykes returns to ESPN after spending three years as the women’s head basketball coach at Arkansas. He will have a recurring role in studio on SEC Network during the season, with additional appearances on ESPN platforms. Butler has appeared on several ESPN platforms, contributing to NBA Draft coverage and The Jump. The former UConn star, who was a co-BIG EAST Player of the Year (2002), joins ESPN’s college basketball coverage as a game analyst. He was a first round draft pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, and went on to play in the NBA for 13 years. Hummel joins ESPN after recently retiring from professional basketball, both in the NBA and overseas. He will serve primarily as a game analyst….

…ESPN has hired award-winning writer and editor Greg Wyshynski to be a leading voice for NHL content, covering the league as a reporter and analyst across platforms. Prior to starting Puck Daddy in 2008, Wyshynski spent 10 years as a writer and editor at The Connection Newspapers in Virginia, where he received more than 50 Virginia Press Association awards. Along with fellow ESPN hockey reporter Emily Kaplan, Wyshynski will write NHL news and analysis each week during the season and be seen and heard across platforms, including SportsCenter. He started at ESPN on Monday, October 16…

…Pac-12 Networks has given extensions for several leading basketball play-by-play announcers and on-air analysts including Bill Walton, Don MacLean, Kevin O’Neill, Mary Murphy and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.  In addition, play-by-play announcers Guy Haberman, Kate Scott and J.B. Long have also all signed extensions with Pac-12 Networks. As former Pac-12 student athletes and coaches, Walton, Gold-Onwude, O’Neill, MacLean and Murphy return to join Pac-12 Networks’ roster. The announcement comes after the Networks previously extended key talent on its studio, football and men’s basketball broadcast teams with Ashley Adamson, Lewis Johnson, Mike Yam, Roxy Bernstein, Steve Lavin and Yogi Roth also signing extensions earlier this year…

….HBO Sports has entered into a new multi-year agreement with acclaimed broadcaster Jim Lampley, who serves as the primary voice for its HBO Boxing franchise. Lampley will continue to serve on multiple HBO Boxing platforms.  He also will continue to host the boxing studio program “The Fight Game With Jim Lampley.”  A four-time Sports Emmy Award winner, Lampley was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY on June 14, 2015. The next edition of “The Fight Game With Jim Lampley” premieres Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT)…

…Tennis Channel has added Hall of Fame coach Nick Bollettieri to its roster. Bollettieri will provide motivational tips, answer viewer questions via “Ask Nick” videos, write weekly articles for TennisChannel.com and sister site Tennis.com, and will likely contribute on air and to Tennis magazine. His first material is set to appear digitally this week during the network’s weeklong coverage of the Shanghai Rolex Masters tournament in China. His articles will cover a variety of subjects including fear, finding focus, leadership and what he has learned from coaching. Bollettieri will also participate in weekly Q&A sessions on Tennis Channel’s social media channels, allowing fans to ask him questions directly….