Rasmussen was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended Gage Park High School.
He received a scholarship to attend DePauw University in Indiana, where he met his future wife Mickey.
[5] Rasmussen's career in the media began in western Massachusetts's Pioneer Valley, at radio station WTTT (1430 AM) in Amherst in 1963.
In 1974, he moved south to Hartford, Connecticut, to join the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association as their communications director.
[8] Rasmussen and ESPN "made amends" in 1999 when then-president George Bodenheimer reached out to the founder for the network's 20th anniversary.
[8][13] On September 30, 1980, ESPN officials announced that Bill Rasmussen was leaving the company by agreement.
[12] The New York Times reported in 1984[14] that ABC purchased controlling interest in ESPN by buying out Getty Oil's position.
[15][self-published source] Rasmussen became involved in plans to build a 12,000-seat golf stadium in Naples, Florida.