Longtime ESPN broadcaster Mike Patrick, who spent more than three decades covering American sports, has died at the age of 80, prompting an emotional tribute from fellow broadcaster Dick Vitale.
Patrick died of natural causes in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sunday, April 20, 2025, according to ESPN. His physician and the City of Clarksburg, West Virginia, confirmed his death.
Vitale, who worked alongside Patrick on numerous college basketball broadcasts, remembered his former colleague as an important figure in ACC coverage.
“I’m so sorry to learn about the passing of Mike Patrick,” Vitale said, according to ESPN. He recalled Patrick’s affection for major ACC games and said he enjoyed working alongside him on memorable basketball broadcasts.
Vitale also referred to Patrick as “Mr. ACC”, a reflection of the broadcaster’s long association with Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.
A 36-year ESPN broadcasting career
Patrick joined ESPN in 1982 and went on to spend 36 years with the network. His work covered football and basketball at both the professional and college levels.
He became particularly well known as the play-by-play voice of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football”, a role he held from 1987 through 2005. He also called ESPN’s first regular-season NFL game.
His college sports résumé was equally extensive. Patrick called more than 30 ACC basketball championships and worked on the Women’s Final Four broadcasts from 1996 to 2009. He also covered college football and the College World Series.
Patrick’s final ESPN assignment was the 2017 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, after which he retired from the network in 2018.
A familiar voice alongside Dick Vitale
Patrick and Vitale became closely associated with ESPN’s ACC basketball coverage. Their pairing became familiar to college basketball audiences during years of Duke, North Carolina and other ACC broadcasts.
ESPN highlighted Patrick’s work on historic ACC matchups, while colleagues remembered his long contribution to the network’s sports coverage. ESPN content president Burke Magnus described Patrick as one of the most influential on-air voices in the network’s history.
Other ESPN colleagues also publicly remembered Patrick following his death. Jay Bilas described him as a professional and friend, while Holly Rowe wrote that their time working together included many memorable moments away from the broadcast booth as well as on air.
Patrick’s legacy at ESPN
Patrick’s career stretched across several generations of sports broadcasting. He was part of ESPN’s early NFL coverage and later became a prominent voice across college football and basketball.
His long association with ACC basketball was particularly notable, with many of those broadcasts featuring Vitale as his analyst partner.
For Vitale, Patrick’s death marked the loss of a longtime professional colleague with whom he had shared numerous broadcasts.
Patrick was 80.
Who was Mike Patrick?
Mike Patrick was a longtime ESPN play-by-play broadcaster who worked for the network from 1982 to 2018.
How old was Mike Patrick when he died?
Patrick was 80 years old.
When did Mike Patrick die?
Patrick died on April 20, 2025, according to ESPN’s report.
How did Mike Patrick die?
ESPN reported that Patrick died of natural causes in Fairfax, Virginia.
What did Dick Vitale say about Mike Patrick?
Vitale expressed sadness over Patrick’s death and recalled working with him on major ACC basketball broadcasts, referring to him as “Mr. ACC.”
How long did Mike Patrick work for ESPN?
Patrick worked for ESPN for 36 years, from 1982 until his retirement from the network in 2018.
What was Mike Patrick known for?
He was particularly known as the voice of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” from 1987 to 2005 and for extensive college football and basketball coverage.
