This Day in Sports Business History September 30th

On September 30, 1980, ESPN officials announced that company founder Bill Rasmussen would be leaving by agreement, marking a pivotal moment in the network’s early corporate history. Rasmussen, who co-founded ESPN and served as its first President and CEO, had seen his role diminished over time as tensions grew between him, management, and primary investor Getty Oil. Though he remained a shareholder until selling his stake in 1984, Rasmussen’s departure signaled ESPN’s transition from a startup driven by its founder’s vision to a more conventional corporate structure guided by outside investors—a move that helped shape the network’s path toward becoming a sports media giant.