Joe Lunardi
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| Joe Lunardi | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Saint Joseph's University, 1982 |
| Employer | ESPN Saint Joseph's University |
| Known for | ESPN Resident "Bracketologist" |
| Home town | Drexel Hill, PA |
| Spouse | Pam |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| Bracketology with Joe Lunardi | |
Joseph Lunardi is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He was born in Philadelphia, he is a graduate of Haverford High School in Pennsylvania, and is a Saint Joseph's University alumnus. Lunardi currently lives in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. He is best known for creating Bracketology, which he calls the "art and science" of predicting the teams that will be selected in the annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. He is well-known as the resident bracketologist for ESPN. In addition to his duties at ESPN, he is the Assistant Vice President of Marketing Communications at Saint Joseph's University and does color commentary for men's basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks. Lunardi correctly predicted all 65 teams to appear in the 2008 NCAA Tournament,[1] while correctly selecting 63 out the 65 teams in the 2009 field by placing both Creighton and St. Mary's incorrectly in his final bracket on March 15.[2] Lunardi correctly selected 64 of the 65 teams in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, believing that Illinois would receive the final at-large bid, while in reality, Florida did.[3]
Lunardi's first bracket for ESPN received 250,000 hits in the first 90 minutes posted. His brackets sometimes receive millions of hits over the course of a season.[4] Since then, he has been a fixture on ESPN's Bracketology program and on SportsCenter, especially during the months of February and March in the run-up to the NCAA Tournament.[5]
One predecessor in "Bracketology," to Lunardi would be the creator of CollegeRPI.com, Jerry Palm.
[edit] References
- ^ Evans, Thayer (March 17, 2008). "Big East Stands Tallest With 8 Bids". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/sports/ncaabasketball/17notebook.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/insider/news/story?id=3981856&&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d3981856
- ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/6992/bracket-winners-and-losers
- ^ Prisbell, Eric (March 4, 2007). "Need for Information Is Creating a Bracket". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300980_pf.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology
