You may not know it, but Tony Kornheiser is the most famous person to ever graduate from your school.
OK, so Billy Baldwin has been in a few movies and Paul Reiser had “Mad About You,” but neither of their resumes compare to what Kornheiser is stepping into — “Monday Night Football.”
“Monday Night Football” is switching from ABC to ESPN next season, and with the move comes a new broadcast booth, which will include Mr. Kornheiser.
Kornheiser can currently be found on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” and heard on his radio show, which is broadcasted every morning. He also writes a column for the Washington Post. He got his start in writing right here at Binghamton University in a program that allowed him to study social sciences, somewhat akin to the Individualized Major Program we have today.
“I usually just tell people I was an English major because that’s what most of my classes were,” Kornheiser said.
While Kornheiser graduated from BU over 35 years ago, in many ways not much has changed. He roomed in Broome and Bingham in Newing, which of course still stands today, and lived off campus on Conklin and Floral. Off-campus housing for students was sub-par even back then.
“[The house on Conklin] was condemned right after me and my friends moved out,” he said.
The student body has not changed much over the years, either.
“Back then, Harpur was made up of two types of kids,” Kornheiser joked. “Those who didn’t get into Ivy League schools and those who did get into Ivy League schools but couldn’t afford it.”
Upon graduating from Harpur in 1970, Kornheiser went on to work in New York City, writing for both the New York Times and Newsday. He finally moved to the Washington Post in 1979 and became a full-time columnist in 1984.
Kornheiser’s move to “Monday Night Football” is a significant one, one that he admits to being “scared to death” about. ESPN is counting on him to boost the show’s ratings, which have been sagging as of late despite the broadcast team of John Madden and Al Michaels.
But just because Kornheiser is a famous alum, doesn’t mean he is too busy to keep up with events at his old school. He even described himself as the men’s basketball team’s number-one fan.
Kornheiser thinks the Bearcats will face a tough test in the America East tournament, particularly in getting past Albany. But he knows if his former team could make its first trip to the big dance, the exposure would be incredible.
No matter how well the Bearcats play this weekend, expect Kornheiser to mention them on ESPN. Even though he is the most famous person to graduate from the Southern Tier, he’ll never forget where he came from.
“I loved it,” Kornheiser said, referring to his time spent at Binghamton. “I was there 4 1/2 years and loved every year.”