Kenny Mayne, ESPN part after 27 years

The popular SportsCenter anchor and former UNLV quarterback disclosed in a social media post Monday that he is leaving the network.

Mayne displayed the dry wit that helped make him famous by stating he was a “salary cap casualty.”

According to his biographical material, ESPN hired Mayne in 1994 after he had sent the network a note inquiring whether it would hire him. The note asked to check a box, including an option that read, “We’ll hire you when there’s an ESPN5.”

Mayne, 61, spent two years as a Rebels backup quarterback behind stalwarts Randall Cunningham and Sam King during the early 1980s. The native of Kent, Washington, graduated from UNLV in 1982 with a degree in broadcasting and would make his name at ESPN covering auto racing and horse racing before later becoming a contributor to “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

He also starred in TV commercials and was a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

Despite the fame he attained, Mayne never forgot his UNLV upbringing. He made several returns to Las Vegas, where he spoke to the Rebels’ football staff and hosted a memorial for basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. During the pandemic, he hosted a Zoom call for former UNLV letter winners.

“I wish I had the chance to go back more,” Mayne told the RJ in 2020. “I appreciate everything I got out of that place. You want to keep the place going and keep it at the highest level it can be.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.