Dave Neal

Dave Neal

Play by Play Commentator

Two-time Emmy Award winner Dave Neal joined ESPN as a play-by-play commentator in 2009 and was on the inaugural roster of SEC Network commentators when it launched in 2014. He currently calls college football, basketball, and baseball games across ESPN platforms. His work includes play-by-play for FCS National Championships, numerous post-season bowl games, NIT tournaments and CWS regional and super regional games.

Since joining ESPN, Neal has served as the prominent voice of the Southeastern Conference on ESPN, as well as a commentator for SEC Network. For the 2024 football season, Neal will lead the trio of himself, commentator Aaron Murray and sideline reporter Ashley ShahAhmadi.

Prior to the launch of SEC Network, he provided the play-by-play for the conference’s syndicated Saturday game alongside Heisman Award winner Andre Ware. He currently provides TV and radio play-by-play coverage of SEC Championship football, basketball and baseball.

From 1995 to 2009, Neal covered the SEC for Fox Sports Net (FSN) and Raycom Sports. In addition to his play-by-play duties, Neal hosted SEC-TV, a weekly program featuring SEC athletics. His hosting roles also included Raycom Sports coverage of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Prior to that role, he was a reporter for the network’s Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks pregame shows. This led to his role as host of The Braves Report from 1994-2002, FSN’s live pregame show for Braves telecasts. He was the network’s pregame host during the Braves run to become World Series Champions in 1995. Neal called play-by-play for FSN’s Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets telecasts. He has covered numerous special events and programming such as Inside the SEC Championships, the NFL Super Bowl Channel, and the XII Pan American Games from Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Neal began his career as a sports anchor for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Fla. in 1989.

Neal graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

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