A 22-year-old student at Kent State University who comes from Uniontown, Ohio, Holmes got onto the show by being one of the two Wendy's Wild Card Winners (the other being K.C.
Along with his one-year ESPN contract, Holmes made $70,000 in his first year, and was awarded with a brand-new Mazda6 5-door car.
When Holmes won, Kent State declared Feb. 19 as Dave Holmes Day at Kent State and then introduced him at the ESPN Bracket Buster game in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
Holmes did try out for the show's first season, got to the semifinals of the competition, but was passed over for the televised finals for the Spring of 2004.
After ESPN, Dave went on to work at WTVG, the ABC affiliate in Toledo, OH, which he joined on April 2, 2007.