Less than a week after reports emerged that he was set to take over as the new host of Monday Night Countdown, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt addressed the issue on Monday and denied that he accepted the position.
The popular SportsCenter host discussed the situation while appearing as a guest on the Dan Patrick Show. Though he refuted that he’s even been offered the job, he acknowledged that there have been “conversations” about him taking over as the pregame show’s host and that it could still happen.
“It was reported that I was the guy, and other than me not having been offered the job or accepting the job that I haven’t been offered, it was spot on,” Van Pelt quipped. “God, that was weird. I mean, you read things and you’re like, ‘Whoa.’ People were congratulating me, and things of that nature.”
Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) discusses his future hosting SportsCenter and addresses the reports that he was offered the Monday Night Countdown hosting gig.
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 24, 2023
SVP's full appearance: https://t.co/mOpuyqk5v1 pic.twitter.com/zt6W3klGKu
Monday Night Countdown is without a host after Suzy Kolber was laid off as part of ESPN’s wide-ranging cuts in June. Van Pelt, who’s hosted the midnight edition of SportsCenter since 2015, revealed to Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina last month that he does not envision hosting the show on a full-time basis for much longer.
Whether that means that he could jump into the hosting role on Monday Night Countdown this season remains to be seen, but for now, Van Pelt said his focus remains on returning to helm SportsCenter next month.
“This was a situation where something was reported about me, which was not accurate,” Van Pelt said. “Now, I don’t want to be coy and act like it couldn’t happen … But if it doesn’t for whatever reason, there are plenty of great men and women at our great that could do as good or better than I in that spot. But, for the moment, I’m supposed to go back in August and hunker down for year nine, and off we go.”
