Departures of note

Bill Rasmussen was an American sports media executive best known as the co-founder of ESPN, the first 24-hour cable sports network. Born in Chicago, he attended DePauw University on a baseball scholarship and later earned an MBA from Rutgers University, serving as a supply officer in the US Air Force in between. He began his broadcasting career in western Massachusetts, working as a sports director and news director at television stations in Springfield before joining the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association as their communications director in 1974.

After being fired by the Whalers in 1978, Rasmussen conceived the idea for an all-sports network while stuck in traffic with his son Scott. They incorporated ESPN in July 1978, secured funding from Getty Oil, and launched the network on September 7, 1979. Rasmussen served as ESPN's first president and CEO, though investors removed him from day-to-day power before the network's launch. He later reconciled with ESPN, which honored him with a plaque and flagpole in 2005 and featured his founding story in a 2026 documentary.

Rasmussen was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019. He died at age 93.