Eisen's return to SportsCenter wasn't the same without his former ESPN colleague.
How Rich Eisen paid tribute to longtime ESPN partner Stuart Scott in return to SportsCenter desk originally appeared on The Sporting News
Rich Eisen made his return to ESPN on Monday night, anchoring SportsCenter for the first time since he left the network over two decades ago.
Eisen was once one of the faces of SportsCenter, anchoring the show with Stuart Scott throughout his time at ESPN. Scott remained with ESPN until 2015, when he passed away in 2015 after a long battle with colon cancer.
As Eisen hosted SportsCenter live from Los Angeles, he made sure to give a tribute to Scott, whom Eisen wished was doing the show with him. Here's a look at how Eisen honored Stuart Scott on SportsCenter.
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Rich Eisen pays tribute to Stuart Scott
During Eisen's SportsCenter return, the former anchor made sure to honor to his former SportsCenter partner, Stuart Scott. Eisen and Scott spent much of Eisen's ESPN tenure anchoring SportsCenter together, as they were front and center throughout the rise of the show.
Near the end of Eisen's solo SportsCenter, ESPN played a montage of moments featuring both Eisen and Scott from their SportsCenter days. Eisen then gave an emotional speech about how much he missed his former partner.
"We all know there should be someone else in this chair next to me, right there, as he was in my seven years in the role he referred to as my 'TV wife,'" he said. "I miss Stuart so very much. He should be in that chair with me, with us, tonight."
And of course, Rich Eisen's return to SportsCenter included a tribute to his longtime partner, the late, great, Stuart Scott. https://t.co/beaPmgJU36pic.twitter.com/NBA5LlRmmN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 19, 2025
Eisen followed that up by doing the highlights of Brewers vs. Cubs, featuring many of Scott's famous lines.
Eisen also dropped a lot of Stuart Scott's most famous calls into the Brewers-Cubs highlight package. pic.twitter.com/UHr6EJbCh9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 19, 2025
Eisen's solo SportsCenter show was full of nostalgia from the late-1990s and early-2000s, when Eisen spent seven years at ESPN before making the move to ESPN. As he came back to the show, Eisen wanted to make it clear that it wasn't a complete return without his former partner.
MORE: What to know about the NFL-ESPN media rights deal
Is Rich Eisen returning to ESPN?
Rich Eisen is returning to ESPN this fall through his daily show "The Rich Eisen Show." ESPN will air "The Rich Eisen Show" through ESPN+ and Disney+ from noon to 3 p.m. ET while ESPN launches its new direct-to-consumer platform. The show's first episode on its new platform will be on September 2.
Additionally, with the NFL and ESPN's new media deal, Eisen's work on the NFL Network will allow him to return to ESPN broadcasts, with ESPN now owning the NFL's media properties.Â
MORE: Why "The Rich Eisen Show" is moving from Roku to ESPN
Why did Rich Eisen leave ESPN?
Rich Eisen left ESPN in 2003 to join the upstart NFL Network, which first launched in November of 2003. Eisen was one of the first on-air employees for the NFL Network, and he has been at the network for over two decades as one of the faces of NFL coverage.
How did Stuart Scott die?
On January 4, 2015, Stuart Scott died after a long battle with colon cancer. The long-time ESPN personality was first diagnosed with cancer in 2007, and he battled the disease until he passed away almost eight years later.
Scott's public fight with cancer became most notable when he won the ESPY's Jimmy V Award in 2014, which is where he gave his most iconic speech. When Scott passed away, Eisen was one of the first to deliver the news to audiences.
Category: Football