Sanders debuted on
ESPN when
ESPN Outdoors was launched in January 1990. He introduces each program and the short features which are aired between the shows. These features often have an environmental and/or educational theme. He serves in a similar role on
ESPN2’s Sunday morning outdoors programming block. Sanders also hosts the
Stihl Timbersports Series (since 1990), the
FLW Tournament series (since 1996) and the
Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament series, all airing on the ESPN family of TV networks. In addition, he co-hosts Saltwater TV, a weekly webcast at ESPNOutdoors.com. Other programs featuring Sanders include
The Bassmasters (co-hosted with Mark Zona, airing weekly on ESPN2) and
Hooked Up (a webcast seen at bassmasters.com.) A native of
Magnolia, Arkansas, Sanders graduated in 1976 from
Hendrix College in
Conway, Arkansas, earning a bachelor of arts degree in English and theater. While at Hendrix he helped launch the campus radio station, KHDX, in 1973. He attended graduate school at
New York University from 1980 to 1981, studying film and television. Sanders began his career in television as a writer and producer for Arkansas Educational Television from 1979–1980, and worked for seven years (1980–1987) as a freelance writer and on-air host of industrial and educational films. From 1987-1992, Sanders was a partner in The Works, a recording studio in
Little Rock,
Arkansas. Sanders' future status with ESPN remains unclear following the network's 3 August 2010 announcement that it plans to sell
B.A.S.S. LLC, which runs the Bassmasters Fishing series, to a group of investors led by Don Logan, Jerry McKinnis and Jim Copeland. McKinnis is also a sportscaster and a colleague of Sanders who hosted ''The Fishin' Hole'' on ESPN from 1980 to 2007. ==Awards and honors==