Jay Bilas gives moving tribute to the late Mike Patrick, an ESPN mainstay

Hours after ESPN announced the death of long-time contributor Mike Patrick, the tributes began pouring in. Fellow analyst Jay Bilas was quick to chime in, having spent plenty of time next to Patrick on the call for various games.

Bilas, of course, has risen to stardom at ESPN in his own right. But he noted what an honor it was to work alongside Patrick.

“So sorry to learn of the passing of the great Mike Patrick,” Bilas wrote on Twitter. “Mike was the voice of ACC Basketball when I was a player, and I had the honor of working with him and calling him a friend. Mike Patrick was a pro’s pro. RIP Mike Patrick.”

Mike Patrick arrived at ESPN in 1982 and became best known for his role as the voice of Sunday Night Football. He called ESPN’s first NFL game in 1987 and continued to do play-by-play until 2005 on Sunday nights, although Pat Summerall briefly took over in 2004 as Patrick recovered from heart surgery.

Patrick also called college football games for ESPN, including the Thursday Night games. He also became the network’s lead play-by-play announcer in 2006 and moved to the Saturday afternoon window for ESPN and ABC from 2009-17.

Additionally, Patrick did play-by-play for college men’s and women’s basketball, as well as the College World Series. He retired from ESPN in 2018.

Patrick’s final game for ESPN was Dec. 30, 2017 when he called Iowa State’s victory over Memphis in the 2017 Liberty Bowl. He announced his retirement in February 2018 and looked back on his time with the network.

“It’s wonderful to reflect on how I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Patrick said. “At the same time, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some of the very best people I’ve ever known, both on the air and behind the scenes. While I’m not sure exactly what’s next for me, I’m looking forward to continuing my journey with new life experiences.”

Mike Patrick began his broadcasting career in 1966 in Somerset, Pa., and was then named the sports director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla. in 1970. He also did play-by-play for the Jacksonville Sharks in the World Football League from 1973-74 and called Jacksonville University basketball games.

In 1975, Mike Patrick headed to Washington, D.C. as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor at WJLA-TV from 1975-82. He also served as the play-by-play voice for Maryland football and basketball until 1978 and called NFL preseason games for Washington until 1982, when he joined ESPN. He also did play-by-play for ACC games in 1984 and called a 1985 game on CBS.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.