Clay Travis
| Clay Travis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Richard Clay Travis April 6, 1979 Nashville, Tennessee |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Education |
George Washington University Vanderbilt University Law School |
| Occupation |
Sports journalist Writer Radio talk show co-host |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse(s) | Lara Travis (2004–present) |
| Website | http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/ |
Richard Clay Travis (born April 6, 1979) is an American sports journalist, writer and television analyst for Fox Sports. He works as an analyst on Fox Sports 1's college pre-game show, as well as their weekly SEC football show.
Early life
Travis was born on April 6, 1979 in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from George Washington University in 2001, majoring in history, as well as working as a student basketball manager. He then attended Vanderbilt University Law School where he graduated in 2004.
Career
Travis originally worked as a lawyer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Tennessee.[1] He attracted media attention in late 2004 with his personal blog written while he was living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Tennessee Titans fan, Travis was unable to get NFL Sunday Ticket, the satellite TV package to watch NFL games in the islands, and went on a "pudding strike," eating only pudding every day for 50 days, with the goal of forcing DirectTV to carry the package in the Virgin Islands.[2] The effort failed, but he blogged about the experience and received media attention. [3][4]
Travis began writing online for CBS Sports in September 2005, which for the first year was not paid.[5] In 2006, Travis finally gave up his law practice for good.[6] Later while writing for CBS, Travis began working on a book "Dixieland Delight," where he visited all 12 stadiums in college football's Southeastern Conference.[7] After leaving CBS, Travis became a writer and editor at Deadspin, and then a national columnist at FanHouse.[5]
Outkick the Coverage
After FanHouse was merged into Sporting News in 2011, Travis founded Outkickthecoverage.com.[5] The website later became one of the most visited college football sites on the web.[6] While there, he continued developing his reputation for occasionally "contrarian" opinions.[8]
In 2008, Travis worked out at D1 Sports Training with NFL prospects preparing for the NFL Draft. He later wrote a ten-part serial about the experience which he entitled Rough Draft.[9]
In 2010, Nashville Scene named Travis "Best Sports Radio Host We Love To Hate" in the publication's "Best of Nashville" issue. He later became a co-host of a sports radio talk show "3HL" on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone with Brent Dougherty and Blaine Bishop.[10] He also hosted a national sports radio show on NBC Sports.[5]
Fox Sports
In 2014, he resigned from his role on "3HL"[10] and was hired by Fox Sports for its weekly college football Saturday pre-game show.[6]
In 2015, he signed a deal with Fox Sports to license his entire sports media brand under Fox Sports, including his website Outkick the Coverage, which was folded into Fox Sports's website.[11] He also started a national weekly television show and restarted his "3HL" weekly radio talk show.[12]
Travis was called out by DeMarcus Cousins for an erroneous prediction he had made five years earlier that Cousins would be arrested.[13][14] In response, Travis offered to donate to a charity of Cousin's choosing.[13][14]
Vanderbilt controversy
In August 2016, Travis criticized his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, for planning to remove the word "Confederate" for its historic Confederate Memorial Hall.[15] In retaliation, Travis lost a US$3,000 promotion deal he had with Jack Daniel's.[15]
Personal life
Travis married Lara, a former Tennessee Titans cheerleader. They have three sons together.[4]
Books authored
- Dixieland Delight: A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference. HarperCollins, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-06-143124-9.
- Man: The Book. Citadel. 2008. ISBN 0-8065-2871-0.
- On Rocky Top: A Front-Row Seat to the End of an Era. HarperCollins, Inc. 2009. ISBN 0-06-171926-9.
References
- ↑ "Clay Travis goes from couch crasher to sports media celeb". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ "Give Him Tv Football Or Give Him Pudding!". tribunedigital-orlandosentinel. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ http://www.ptonline.net/princetonopinion/x1538951684/From-pudding-strikes-to-radio-writers-touch-their-audiences/
- 1 2 http://www.tennessean.com/story/life/2014/07/02/clay-travis-pudding-protest/12036543/
- 1 2 3 4 "FOX Sports 1 Takes On ESPN With Unique Talent That Includes Clay Travis". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- 1 2 3 "Sports Media Personality Clay Travis Creates Multi-Million Dollar Brand". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ "Clay Travis goes from couch crasher to sports media celeb". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ "Clay Travis re-signs with Fox Sports to expand his "sports media brand"". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/04/14/rough-draft-breaking-6-0-in-the-40
- 1 2 http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/story/signing-off-3hl-thursday-and-radio-for-now-082614
- ↑ "Clay Travis finds new home with Fox Sports megadeal". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ↑ "Clay Travis to launch national college football TV show". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- 1 2 "DeMarcus Cousins trolls writer who said he would be arrested". SI.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- 1 2 "NBA player destroys writer who 5 years ago said there was a 100% chance he would be arrested within 5 years". Business Insider. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- 1 2 Tamburin, Adam (August 17, 2016). "Jack Daniel's nixes Clay Travis deal over 'Confederate' controversy". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 18, 2016.