QUOTATIONS: “ STU, FOR WHOM I OWE MY SHOW” Roy Firestone Emmy Award Winning host of ESPN’s “ Up Close” “ ITS ABOUT TIME THE PUBLIC FOUND OUT WHERE IT ALL BEGAN WITH ESPN. I FOR ONE REMEMBER OUR MANY TALKS AND YOU SHOULD BE COMMENDED AS ONE OF THE PIONEERS WHO HAD THE GUTS TO STAY WITH AN IDEA THAT MANY THOUGHT HAD NO CHANCE OF SUCCESS. AS IN ALL THINGS THERE IS ALWAYS ONE “FIRST”AND THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR STAYING WITH YOUR VISION. Bud “Cappy” Greenspan Award-winning Olympic film maker “YOU MADE THE LAST HALF OF MY LIFE A GREAT JOY” Dick Schaap, Tampa Bay Final Fours, 1999 Host, ESPN Sports Reporters “LITTLE DID I KNOW WHEN RETAINED BY STU EVEY OF GETTY OIL COMPANY IN 1979 THAT ESPN WOULD BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS IT IS TODAY IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS TELEVISION. NETWORK TELEVISION VETERANS LIKE JIM SIMPSON, CHET SIMMONS, AND SCOTTY CONNAL, TOOK GREAT CAREER RISKS WHEN THEY JOINED ESPN. THEIR EARLY CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE BEEN REWARDED BY ESPN’S LATER SUCCESSES” Ed Hookstratten Sports and Entertainment attorney “ AT THE VERY TOP OF MY CAREER LIST OF DEALS I SHOULD HAVE MADE AS PRESIDENT OF CBS SPORTS ( AND DIDN’T) WAS THE OPPORTUNITY THAT CBS HAD TO PURCHASE AN INTEREST IN ESPN FROM GETTY OIL COMPANY IN 1981. OUR COMPETITORS AT ABC TOPPED OUR OFFER. PERHAPS THEY HAD BETTER VISION, OR MORE COURAGE”. Neal Pilson Former President, CBS Sports “I CAN VAGUELY RECALL WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE BEFORE ESPN, BUT I DON’T WANT TO RELIVE IT” Bob Verdi, Columnist The Chicago Tribune “ I RECEIVED A CALL FROM SUPER AGENT , ED HOOKSTRATTEN, IN 1979. HE HAD BEEN RETAINED BY GETTY OIL COMPANY TO FIND TALENT FOR THEIR SPORTS NETWORK TO BE 24-7. I HAD BEEN WITH NBC AND ANNOUNCED SUPER BOWLS, WORLD SERIES, WIMBLEDON, AND OTHER LUSH AND COVETED ASSIGNMENTS, SO WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER MOVING TO THIS NEW (OUTLANDISH) NETWORK, NOT YET ON THE AIR, AND ON CABLE? THE CALLS BEGAN FROM STU EVEY, ASKING IF I HAD MADE A DECISION. THE CALLS WERE SO ROUTINE AND PUNCTUAL THAT MY KIDS WOULD SAY, “IT’S THE GETTY MAN”. STU WAS MUCH MORE CLAIRVOYANT IN PREDICTING TV’S FUTURE THAN I WAS. I NEVER MADE A BETTER PROFESSIONAL DECISION. Jim Simpson, Announcer ESPN “I FIRST MET STU EVEY IN 1980 WHEN ESPN SUBMITTED THEIR NOTICE THAT THEY INTENDED TO BID FOR THE TELEVISION RIGHTS FOR THE 1984 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC GAMES. BACKED BY GETTY OIL COMPANY, THEY HAD TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. THEY LATER WITHDREW, BUT ESPN RECEIVED A GREAT DEAL OF PUBLICITY. HISTORY HAS NOW SHOWN THAT STU AND GETTY OIL COMPANY ARE TO BE COMMENDED FOR THEIR PATIENCE IN SUPPORTING ESPN IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.” Peter Uebberoth Executive Director 1984 Olympic Games “ The success of ESPN today is clearly built on three key building of success….. The vision of Bill Rasmussen, the organization and implementation of Chet Simmons and Scotty Connal, and the entrepreneurial hutzpah of Stu Evey. Without Stu Evey and Getty Oil Company there would have never been a September 7, 1979, and there would be no ESPN today.” George Grande. Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, and anchor of the premiere sports center show on September 7, 1979 “By creating an avenue by which Olympic and women’s sports could receive national television coverage, Evey and ESPN were hopeful that the NCAA would eventually make available it’s premiere championship events. ESPN executives understood that a partnership with the NCAA was ESPN’s first ticket in acquiring programming that would provide them the opportunity to gain national recognition and prominence.” Tom Hansen, PAC 10 conference commissioner and former NCAA executive. “ Stu and I have been friends for many years. I’m happy for the success of ESPN and proud of the fine work he did with ESPN. He always believed in himself, and his vision of launching the king of sports television” Tom Lasorda Hall of Fame manager, Los Angeles Dodgers February 24, 2004 January 24, 2004 Stuart- “It seems hard to believe that there was a time when you couldn’t turn on your television set and tune in to ESPN for the sports news of the day. ESPN enhanced the popularity of many sports, but it certainly played an important role in the early success of the Seniors Tour, now the Champions Tour. That channel carried many of the Senior Tour tournaments and did a very good job. Without that television exposure, the Seniors Tour would never have had the growth it has experienced in later years. Of course, the regular PGA and LPGA tours have also benefited from the attention ESPN has brought to all of golf. Good luck with your book. Regards, Arnold Palmer