There is a ray of hope –– amidst the shouting, the junior high locker room-level jokes, the uninformed opinions, the massive egos, the constant interrupting and talking over one another –– for intelligent sports-talk radio.

Chuck Wilson is returning to ESPN.

So many times in the last five years, I’ve said to people: “It tells you all you need to know about the state of sports-talk radio that (fill in the name of whatever loud, juvenile, it’s-all-about-me host you want) is on the air, and Chuck Wilson isn’t.”

Wilson has always been the perfect host for the mature, as opposed to immature, sports fan.

There never has been a better on-air interviewer than Wilson. Whether in Providence back in the 1980s or in the 14 years he was with ESPN, he always had interesting guests who enjoyed going on his show because no one worked harder to prepare than he did. Wilson unfailingly asked insightful, probing questions that left his listeners both well-informed and highly entertained.

Because you could listen to him forever, it seemed as if he’d be on forever.

But then the business changed.

“I’m not sure when it started to turn,” he said Tuesday, “but there seemed to be a feeling that, in order to attract a younger audience, you had to be more outrageous every day. The personality of the host became more important than the personality of the show.”

Wilson always has taken pride in what he did. But his show always was listener-driven, not ego-driven.

Loud, stupid and outrageous was never his style.

“Look at what’s on television today,” he said. “Fox News is to the far right. On MSNBC, the further they move to the left, the bigger their audience is. The idea seems to be that you can’t be balanced.”

Wilson made an effort to hear, and try to understand, a variety of ideas.

“When it comes to sports, everybody has an opinion,” he said. “They should have the chance to put their points across. Instead, too many hosts just want to make fun of the callers.”

The first host hired by ESPN when it was a fledging venture, Wilson and his co-host, Tony Bruno, often had spirited – but certainly not mean-spirited – debates.

“We came at things,” said Wilson, “from different perspectives.”

Wilson was different from the scream-it-out, don’t-think-it-out sports-talk show host because he kept things in perspective. “Yes, I want to be entertained,” he said, speaking from his listeners’ point of view. “But I want insight, too. Take me onto the field. Take me into the locker room.

“I’ve always believed in informed opinions, and tried to bring those people on my show.”

Wilson came to Providence from Rochester in the summer of 1981 to do sports reports during afternoon drive time on WEAN and, more importantly, start a sports-talk show.

He told the station’s program director, Dave Coakley, that: “If he was looking for flash, sizzle and controversy – don’t bother. But, if he was looking for someone to run an informational and opinion talk show, something that treated the callers with respect, well, that was different.”

His producer at WEAN in those days was Sean McAdam, who would go on to become a highly respected baseball writer –– first with The Providence Journal, then The Boston Herald, and now with the website CSNNE.com.

“Chuck Wilson on Sports” became a top-rated program, both at WEAN and then, after the sale of that station resulted in a format change, at WICE. When the broadcast rights to Providence College basketball shifted from WICE to WPRO, Wilson switched stations, also.

His career in Providence came to an end in the spring of 1993, when WPRO was sold. By that time, he’d been working weekends at ESPN radio for more than a year.

He began working fulltime at ESPN in 1994 and moved from weekends to weeknights the following year, when the network launched “Gamenight” – the program he hosted for 10 years.

In January 2005, Wilson was informed that his contract would not be renewed due to economic reasons. He had become too expensive for what the network wanted to spend on evening programming.

It was as if the voice of reason had been silenced.

But now he’s back, beginning Sunday, when he’ll host the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show on ESPN Radio from 5:30 to 9 p.m. He also will serve as host for “Baseball Tonight” and “Football Tonight.”

“It feels great to be back,” Wilson said. “I’m excited to rejoin my colleagues at ESPN Radio.

“I’m fortunate they’ve reached out to me. During the day, they’re still going to focus on a lot of personality radio. But, during the evening, the emphasis is going to be more on information, and that fits me well.

“Our goal is to inform, entertain, and bring you insight. We’re in a ‘Twitter’ world, immediately flooded with sports news, in which anybody can post a story. What’s true, and what isn’t? We find out what’s accurate, and then provide context. What does it really mean?

“We have the contacts to reach the athletes, agents and decision-makers, an outstanding research department, and a terrific collection of analysts to break it all down. Hopefully, you’ll come away with a better perspective on the stories you care about.”

Tune in. And stay tuned. Once again, finally, there’s a voice worth listening to on sports-talk radio.

jdonalds@projo.com