Ian Eagle will be presented his National Sportscaster of the Year Award on Monday, a well-deserved and long-overdue honor for a play-by-play veteran who, throughout his storied career, has quietly established himself as one of the most respected names in sports broadcasting.
Finalists included Eagle’s TNT colleague Kevin Harlan, three-time recipient Al Michaels, Mike Tirico, Joe Buck and Jim Nantz, who Eagle will succeed as the voice of March Madness beginning next year.
This is Eagle’s first such honor after previously being named New York Sportscaster of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Following in his father’s footsteps, Eagle’s son, Noah, has put himself on a similar path, embarking on his own broadcast career as radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sirius XM.
Eagle achieved viral fame with his memorable call of Ja Morant’s dunk during last year’s playoffs, punctuating Morant’s acrobatic slam with a quip years in the making.
https://twitter.com/thecomeback/status/1519129300108079104
A graduate of Syracuse University, a school that’s produced Dick Stockton, Marv Albert, Bob Costas and Sean McDonough, among other industry leaders, Eagle has been credited as one of the most versatile broadcasters in his field, taking on NBA assignments for YES (where he serves as voice of the Brooklyn Nets) and TNT while also calling a full complement of NFL and college basketball games on CBS.
Other bullet points on Eagle’s career resume include manning the Westwood One radio booth for Thursday Night Football, appearing on Tennis Channel’s coverage of the French Open and announcing the annual Army/Navy game on CBS.
About Jesse Pantuosco
Jesse Pantuosco joined Awful Announcing as a contributing writer in May 2023. He’s also written for Audacy and NBC Sports. A graduate of Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a master’s degree in creative writing from Fairfield University, Pantuosco has won three Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards. He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut and never misses a Red Sox, Celtics or Patriots game.