In 1979, left Ohio University four credits short of graduation; some 18 years later, was awarded his undergraduate degree and delivered the school's commencement address
Began his broadcast journalism career at WOWK-TV, in Huntington, WV, as a news producer
After working at numerous TV stations throughout the 1980s and '90s, was hired as a news anchor for NBC's Today; in 1997, succeeded Bryant Gumbel as its coanchor
In 2007, celebrated ten years of co-anchoring NBC's Today
In 2008, was the guest of honor at The Friars Club of New York Celebrity Roast, where he was roasted by Al Roker, Katie Couric, Tom Cruise, and others
Underwent surgery to repair a separated shoulder after he fell off his bike while trying to avoid a run-in with a deer on Long Island in 2009
In addition to covering the 2010 Winter Olympics with his Today co-hosts from Vancouver, Canada, he was also chosen to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay; he carried the torch through the town of Burnaby, British Columbia
Briefly replaced Bob Costas as NBC's primetime Olympics host during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi when Costas developed an eye infection