ESPN Reveals Slate of Coverage Commemorating 25th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001

ESPN is planning on commemorating the 25th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 with a full slate of programming acknowledging the events of that day.

What's Happening:

• 25 years ago, most every network halted regular programming to bring us the events of September 11, 2001. Now, a quarter century later, that idea remains as ESPN will commemorate this pivotal moment in American history through a broad range of storytelling across its platforms on Friday, September 11, 2025 and throughout the upcoming weekend.
• The planned ESPN coverage will focus on the lives, stories and lasting impact of that day, while highlighting the enduring ability of sports to connect, comfort and unite.
• ESPN’s morning shows will feature images from the Freedom Tower and World Trade Center site on Friday morning, including the ceremony at 9/11 Memorial Plaza.
• Both morning shows - Get Up and First Take - will also highlight notable sports moments that occurred in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.
• On Get Up, Mike Greenberg will have an essay on how sports helped America heal in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. He will also lead a conversation with Herm Edwards (2001 New York Jets head coach) and Bobby Valentine (2001 New York Mets manager) on how they led their teams in the days immediately after the attack.
• On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Shae Cornette, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Michael Wilbon will discuss how sports helped in the healing process in the days and months after 9/11.
• Throughout the day, Friday editions of SportsCenter will recognize the 9/11 anniversary and the impact of the attacks on the sports world 25 years ago.
• SportsCenter will also re-air the 2011 SC Featured feature “The Man in the Red Bandana” on Welles Crowther, a 1999 Boston College graduate, whose extraordinary courage and selfless actions on 9/11 continue to inspire generations. A rookie equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Upper Nyack, N.Y., Crowther helped guide lost and injured survivors to safety before the South Tower collapsed. Earlier this week, Crowther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• ESPN’s “Red Bandana” feature earned a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Long Feature.
• Following the men’s semifinals at the US Open, Scott Van Pelt will host the Friday night SportsCenter (approx. 11 p.m., ESPN) from Flushing Meadows outside NYC. Van Pelt’s show is scheduled to include a conversation with New York Mets legend Mike Piazza who will discuss his memorable post-9/11 home run in the team’s first game back after the attacks in 2001.
• ESPN MLB reporter Jorge Castillo will report from Yankee Stadium on Friday night during the Mets-Yankees game.
• Pregame ceremonies will recognize the NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department, Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Tuesday’s Promise. Select alumni from the 2001 Yankees team are also scheduled to participate.
• Beyond Castillo’s reports, the Mets-Yankees game will be available on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited plan subscribers (subject to local blackout restrictions – 7:05 p.m. ET).
• Coverage of the US Open continues Friday with the men’s semifinals.
• ESPN’s tease open will acknowledge the anniversary of 9/11, voiced by actor/director Ed Burns. There will also be a feature about Lindsay Stapleton Morehouse, a tennis star at Williams College who worked in the World Trade Center and lost her life on 9/11.
• Lindsay loved tennis. Every year it was a family tradition to attend the US Open for many years in the late 80’s and 90’s. At Williams college she’d been a Division III All-American, and captain of the tennis team. 
• Out of college, she got out a job at KBW, an investment bank headquartered on the 88th and 89th floors of the south tower of the World Trade Center. She lost her life just weeks after her 26th birthday. For years her racket hung in the 9/11 museum, and her family still remembers the US Open year as a special time.
• Evening coverage from the US Open will also include images of the 9/11 Memorial and the tribute in light, followed by SportsCenter with Van Pelt.
• ESPN2 will televise Boston College’s annual Red Bandana Game on Friday night (7:30 p.m.) as the Eagles face Rutgers. The game commemorates the legacy of 1999 BC graduate and 9/11 hero Welles Crowther.
• The opening tease of the game will be voiced by actor/director Ed Burns, who narrated the aforementioned ESPN award-winning “The Man in the Red Bandana” feature from 2011. The telecast will also include coverage of the National Anthem (performed by the Boston Police Department) and U.S. Coast Guard flyover, as well as audio from Boston College players and head coach Bill O’Brien.
• The ESPN Features Unit is producing a 25th anniversary story on Boston College’s Red Bandana game. The story will debut Saturday morning on College GameDay (9 a.m.) and on ACC Network’s ACC Huddle (10 a.m.).
• On SEC Network, Ryan McGee will have an essay related to 9/11 that will air Saturday on SEC Nation (9 a.m.). Nation will also highlight Oklahoma Sooners defensive end Danny Okoye, who has pledged to make a donation for every tackle, sack and interception in 2026 to support first responders, military veterans and their families. Before Missouri takes the field Friday night against Kansas, SEC Now will highlight Mizzou head coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s press conference comments when he discussed 9/11.
• In addition, ESPN’s Creative Content Unit is producing a :30 essay on how sports and college football helped in the healing process in the aftermath of 9/11. The piece will air throughout the college football weekend.
• From ESPN’s Little League World Series coverage last month, E:60’s 30-minute documentary Living On celebrates the life and legacy of Michael Cammarata, the only player whose number has been retired at the LLWS and the youngest member of the Fire Department of the City of New York ever to die in the line of duty.
• Thursday and Friday will feature multiple airings of E:60’s Living On: The Michael Cammarata Story on ESPN2 as well as the 30 for 30 Shorts: First Pitch.
• First Pitch (from 2015 )recounts the night of Oct. 30, 2001, when President George W. Bush stepped onto the mound at Yankee Stadium to throw the first pitch at Game 3 of the World Series, just seven weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Schedule:

• Thursday, September 10:
  • 7:30 PM - Living On: The Michael Cammarata Story - ESPN2
  • 8:00 PM - 30 for 30 Shorts: First Pitch - ESPN2
• Friday, September 11:
  • 3:00 PM - Living On: The Michale Cammarata Story - ESPN2
  • 3:30 PM - 30 for 30 Shorts: First Pitch - ESPN 2
  • 10:30 PM - Living On: The Michale Cammarata Story - ESPN2
  • 11:00 PM - 30 for 30 Shorts: First Pitch - ESPN 2

ESPN On That Day:

• Similar to other networks and broadcasts on September 11, 2001, the day started out as normal with standard network programming.
• ESPN's programming was built around its normal mix of SportsCenter, studio programming, and sports news, with the games of the night before being the real highlight of the programming that morning.
• The big focus was the NFL opening weekend just prior, but the attacks of that tragic day happened during their broadcasts.
• ESPN, owned by the Disney Company, switched to showing a simulcast of ABC News' live coverage of the attacks - a network also owned by the Walt Disney Company.
• This was an especially big move for ESPN, which also shows how historical the events of that fateful day were, as ESPN has been extraordinarily committed to its sports programming, and reluctant to interrupt sports coverage for non-sports related news.
• There was, however, a special edition of SportsCenter that aired that night, unlike any other edition of SportsCenter. There were no sports highlights, no upbeat or comical presentations, instead focusing on the day's events and their impact on the sports world.
• That day, the MLB cancelled the games of the day - and eventually postponed the entire baseball schedule for a number of days. The NFL was debating whether or not the upcoming weekend's games should even be played.
• Teams, athletes, and reps from various sports organizations were also beginning to respond to the day's events during the program.