Whit Watson (born 1971) is a sportscaster for Golf Channel, hired in August 2010.
Prior to that position, Watson was a primary host for Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida, the Florida-based regional cable networks owned and operated by Fox Television. He joined the network in August 2003 after nearly seven years at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. At ESPN, Watson hosted a variety of programs, including SportsCenter, RPM 2Night, NBA 2Night, and shifts on ESPNEWS, in addition to filling in on ESPN Radio. Prior to working for ESPN, Watson was a television producer and radio reporter for the Orlando Magic from 1993 through 1997.
At Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida, Watson served a variety of roles, including hosting pregame shows and ancillary programming for the Tampa Bay Rays, Orlando Magic, and Tampa Bay Lightning. In the past, he served as the primary studio host for several (now-defunct) Sun Sports original productions, including the pregame and postgame shows for University of Florida and Florida State University football games. Watson was the first host of In My Own Words, a show that was created in Orlando and subsequently adopted by other Fox Television-owned regional sports networks around the country.
Watson also served as the primary play-by-play announcer for the FHSAA high school football and basketball state championship games, and called University of Florida and Florida State University basketball and football games as needed. In 2008, he won two Suncoast Regional Emmy awards as a host and writer, and added another in 2009.
Watson is an Orlando native who graduated from Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, FL in 1989 and later went on to graduate from Cornell University in 1993, where he spent four years as a radio announcer for WVBR. At Cornell University, he was both a National Merit Scholar and Cornell National Scholar, the latter being the highest honor bestowed upon incoming freshmen. He majored in English at Cornell, with a concentration in Communications, and graduated "with distinction" from Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences.
In 2007, Whit Watson was honored as the Distinguished Alumni Award winner at Trinity Preparatory School, and currently serves on the school's Board of Trustees. He lives in the Orlando area.
Over the course of his career, Watson worked directly with fellow television personalities Dave Revsine, Bill Pidto, David Steele, Cara Capuano, and Mike Tirico, among many others.
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