Ascending Sports Broadcaster Noah Eagle ’19 Returns to Alma Mater

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Six years after graduating, sports broadcaster Noah Eagle ’19 returned to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications on Friday, May 2, to share how he went from calling Syracuse games to covering Super Bowls, the Olympics, and the NFL’s debut on Netflix.

Eagle has been a rising star in the sports broadcasting industry since graduating from Newhouse. While at Syracuse, he broadcast various sports, including basketball, football, and lacrosse. 

Eagle auditioned for the Los Angeles Clippers’ TV play-by-play job a month before graduation but did not get the position. The organization offered him the opportunity to be the new radio play-by-play voice for the Clippers for the 2019-2020 season.

Eagle said the hardest job to get is the first one. 

“Once you get the first job, it’s like dominoes; that first domino falls, and the rest of them just kind of circle around,” Eagle said. 

Eagle received the opportunity to cover 3×3 basketball for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 

Since 2022, Eagle has broadcast preseason games for the Los Angeles Chargers on KCBS-TV with Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts. 

He has called special National Football League (NFL) games with former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson for Nickelodeon. During the 2023 season, Eagle and Burleson called the Christmas Day game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The two teamed up again two months later for Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the San Francisco 49ers squared off against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Eagle joined NBC Sports in 2023. NBC announced in February 2023 that he would be the play-by-play announcer for the Big Ten Saturday Night Football package and the Big Ten basketball package on Peacock. 

He left the Clippers in September 2023 to join the YES Network as the alternate TV play-by-play announcer for his father, renowned broadcaster and Newhouse alum Ian Eagle ’90, and ESPN sportscaster Ryan Ruocco.

Eagle and veteran analyst Todd Blackledge broadcast the 2023 Wild Card game between the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans. The duo would return to the booth for the NFL’s first game in Brazil on Peacock when the Green Bay Packers faced the Philadelphia Eagles during the first week of the 2024 season. 

In the summer of 2024, Eagle served as the play-by-play voice of Team USA men’s and women’s basketball at the Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He worked with 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold medalist and three-time NBA Champion Dwayne Wade for the men’s games. Eagle teamed up with long-time WNBA and college basketball analyst LaChina Robinson for the women’s games. The United States men’s and women’s basketball teams beat France to capture the gold medal. 

Noah Eagle and Dwayne Wade at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Photo credit: Awful Announcing

Eagle became the lead play-by-play announcer for the 2024 French Open tennis tournament on NBC Sports and Peacock. He worked alongside analysts Mary Carillo and John McEnroe, who teamed up in 1977 to win the mixed doubles title at the French Open. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles.

Eagle broadcast one of two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024 for Netflix this past season, the streaming service’s first NFL broadcasts. Ian Eagle broadcast the other game.

Noah Eagle won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On Air in May 2024. NBC regained the broadcasting rights to the upcoming NBA season, and Eagle will be the No. 2 play-by-play voice, while Newhouse alum Mike Tirico ’88 will serve as the lead announcer. 

After Eagle spoke about his career, Newhouse students had an opportunity to ask him questions about the industry. Some questions focused on networking and improving your craft on the air. 

Noah Eagle with Newhouse students. Photo credit: Matea Kanicki

Eagle said it is essential for students to establish their network. 

“I really just think it’s about establishing real relationships with people. And the more real relationship, genuine relationship you have with a person, the more willing they are probably to go to bat for you,” Eagle said. 

Eagle said there are many ways for you to hone your craft as an announcer. 

“This job is actually a job where you can track your own greatness and find that greatness,” Eagle said. 

Matt Park is asking Noah Eagle a question. Photo credit: Matea Kanicki

The Voice of the Orange and adjunct professor Matt Park hosted the event in The Mike Tirico Room in Room 250 of Newhouse 3.