Noah (left) and Ian Eagle on the broadcast set at NBC
There’s a new father-son sportscasting team on the national scene, one with a decidedly Orange background: Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19.
Ian finished his second year as the lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and has crafted an award-winning career calling NFL, NBA and college basketball games on a variety of national broadcast networks. He’s also the longtime Brooklyn Nets TV announcer for the YES Network.
Noah is a rising star, working the Super Bowl and serving as the voice of Team USA basketball at the Olympics, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, and broadcasting French Open tennis and countless primetime college football and basketball games.
“When Noah was calling Team USA basketball games at the Summer Olympics, I was watching as a fan but also as a proud father and as a broadcaster who studies what the broadcaster is saying and what information they’re using in the moment,” Ian says. “I was blown away by Noah’s calls, his coverage and his choice of words in the moment. He crushed it, and he’ll always have that moment for the rest of his life.”
Noah Eagle (left) served as the voice of Team USA basketball at the Summer Olympics.
Growing up, Noah always saw how excited his dad was calling games and thought it could be a fun career option to pursue.
“I see it’s possible and knew what to expect with this job and what comes with it, but I didn’t do anything with that until I got to Syracuse,” Noah says. “By the time I got there as a freshman, I was singularly focused and really had a feeling of what I wanted to do so I could attack it.”
The Eagles were both nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Play-by-Play, and on June 30, Ian will receive the National Sportscaster of the Year Award from the National Sports Media Association.
Ian Eagle (far left) wrapped up his second season as the lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Sportscasting and a love for Syracuse University runs in the Eagle family. Ian earned a broadcast journalism degree and Noah earned a broadcast and digital journalism degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. Ian’s wife, Alisa (Terry) Eagle ’90, earned a retailing degree from what is now the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, and his daughter, Erin ’21, earned an advertising degree from Newhouse.
In honor of Father’s Day, the Eagles stopped by the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast to discuss their special bond and reflect on the important role Syracuse University has played in their lives.
Check out episode 178 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Driscoll. A transcript [PDF] is also available.
Ian Eagle: The pride that you have as a dad that your child is interested in what you do and interested at a level that they want to pursue it, and they want to make it their life’s work—it’s been more than I could have ever expected.
The conversations we now have are nuanced, because it’s not just dad and kid, it’s someone that fully understands what I’ve done, and now I’m living vicariously through him as he goes through navigating those experiences.
Noah Eagle: He’s meant everything to me. The best thing he’s done was to stay as hands-off as possible unless I came to him and really wanted help. But for the most part, he let me learn for myself and enjoy everything else that comes with this job by myself.
He was always there as a sounding board. I’m incredibly thankful that we’re in the position right now where we’re both doing great events and we both get to share those experiences together.
Ian Eagle: Sports is the connection we’ll always have. He was really into sports at a young age, which was very similar to me. When he was 6 or 7 years old, he was studying the stats and learning the names and backgrounds of athletes. That’s a bond any sports fan can share.
But the more important part for our relationship was his love for TV, movies and music. We watched all the classic movies of the 1970s and 1980s that shaped me as a person, from “Animal House,” and “Stripes,” to “Blues Brothers,” and “Caddyshack.” That he has so much love and appreciation for that and can quote lines from my favorite movies is probably more at the core of our relationship than sports.
Noah Eagle: We had a lot of great games that I got to go to with him and those are memories that stick out forever. There were certain times on birthdays where he would take me on trips, including the first time I ever got to fly by myself was meeting him going to a Duke basketball game when I turned 14. It’s more so the little moments in the house or going out to dinner to California Pizza Kitchen. Those are the memories that stick out the most.
Ian Eagle: It is the backbone of what I do. I showed up and had nothing other than a dream of what I wanted to do. Everything I learned was based on that school and that experience and the people I came in contact with and the people that took me under their wing. I never would have met my wife, my soulmate, without Syracuse. For our kids to go there and experience Syracuse is so special.
Noah Eagle: My mom best described it when we went to visit. The sun was shining, everyone was smiling and you could feel this kinetic energy around campus. My mom and I walk onto the Quad and she says, “This is my happy place.” I asked why she said that, and she said, “You’ll understand one day if you come.” She was right. Every time I come back, the special memories flood your brain.
Ian and Noah Eagle shared a special moment in February of 2018 when Ian was calling the Syracuse vs. Miami men’s basketball game for CBS and Noah was broadcasting for WAER-FM.
Note: This conversation has been edited for brevity.
