Before Noah Eagle began to show an interest in following in his father’s footsteps, he had something else in mind. Something that showed a bit of imagination.
“When people asked what I wanted to do, the answer was very simple: I wanted to be a TV dentist, which is not a real thing,” Noah told GQ last summer. With the great example right in front of him, the career goals became a little more real as a teenager. A pivot in his outlook began after watching his dad’s passion for his own work as a CBS announcer.
Smart choice by Noah, who is one of the brightest up and coming (some may argue he’s already there) broadcasters in the country. Not bad for a kid from New Jersey, who grew up a big basketball fan. He would shadow his father when Ian called NBA games. Following through on his intentions to get into broadcasting, Noah ended up going to Syracuse, and graduating in 2019. There he showed promise when given the opportunity to call Orange basketball, football and lacrosse games.
Just a few years later, he had already burst on the national scene, joining his dad as a network broadcaster.
ROAD TO NBC
Eagle didn’t take long after his graduation to get into the game. In April 2019, he tried out, unsuccessfully for the LA Clippers television play-by-play job. He was impressive enough for management to offer him the radio job. He took it and started in October of that year.
The busy Eagle worked in his off-season of 2021 on the play-by-play of 3×3 basketball for NBC Sports’ coverage of the pandemic delayed 2020 Olympics. It was the first time the sport was played.
Later that year Eagle joined CBS Sports as the play-by-play broadcaster for their #2 broadcasting team for college football. Eagle called games during the SEC on CBS doubleheaders calling select CBS Sports Network games.
He has also called special NFL broadcasts for CBS’ sister network Nickelodeon since 2021, teaming with CBS sportscaster Nate Burleson and Nickelodeon star Gabrielle Neveah Green on coverage of two Wild Card playoff games and a Christmas Day contest.
In 2022, Eagle was paired with his dad’s former announcing partner Dan Fouts for Los Angeles Chargers preseason games airing on KCBS-TV. Eagle also moved over to Fox Sports that year, working as a play-by-play announcer for their college basketball coverage and later their college football coverage. 2022 was also the year for Eagle’s first chance to call an NFL game on network television. He called a Week 6 game between the 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons on Fox.
In February 2023, Eagle left for NBC to become their play-by-play broadcaster for their recently acquired Big Ten Saturday Night package, as well as their Big Ten basketball package on Peacock.
In September of 2023 Eagle joined the YES Network as an alternate play-by-play announcer behind his father, Ian, and Ryan Ruocco. He left his role with the Clippers as a result.
NBC had more plans for Eagle in 2024, announcing that he would take on the play-by-play duties for the United States men’s and women’s basketball teams at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Also last year, he was the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports/Peacock at the 2024 French Open tennis championships and for a Netflix NFL game on Christmas Day.
Quite a five-year span for a young broadcaster.
WHY IS HE GOOD?
His voice is mature beyond his years. He sounds poised, confident, authoritative and much older than he is. There’s a polished quality to his broadcasts that you normally hear from seasoned veteran broadcasters. His voice is smooth, yet commanding, another element to a broadcast usually reserved for those with much more experience. It’s rare that young broadcasters possess more than one of these traits, but that’s the case with Eagle.
The one thing that comes shining through in every broadcast is how well-prepared Eagle is for each of them. It is so important for any broadcaster to be ready to go every time he/she cracks the mic.
“If I’m prepared, then I feel confident that I can go in and do my job,” Eagle told The Athletic. “But it’s all about preparation. It’s what you do leading up to the broadcast that makes the broadcast good.”
Most younger broadcasters are singularly focused on sounding great. So much so, that it can sound robotic and mechanical. Not in Eagle’s case. He infuses the proper balance of command and confidence to unlock his personality. He is technically solid, but I love the way he can poke a little fun at himself along the way. Self-deprecation makes you sound human and much more relatable to your audience. I enjoy the mix of it all in Eagle’s broadcasts.
You can tell he is Ian’s son. I don’t mean that he is copying his dad at all. The style he employs takes a little from dad. Meaning, the information is great, the pop-culture references are on point and yes, there must be some humor along the way. Broadcasts need humor, in moderation of course. Professional sports offer long, and sometimes tough, seasons. The announcer needs to consider how he/she will continue to ‘entertain’ as well as ‘inform’ during the season.
Eagle picks the right time to showcase his ability to entertain. Take for example on a Nets broadcast, during the “Ask The Announcers” segment, Eagle and broadcast partner Sarah Kustok took advantage of a question from a fan and ran with it.
“What does an argument between Noah and Ian Eagle sound like? So, I’ve already done it. But I will do it live in person so you can hear it,” said Eagle, reading the question provided.
“You’ve already had an argument?” asked Kustok.
“No, I’ve already simulated what an argument was when I was growing up,” replied Eagle. “Which is I would get home and he would go ‘Clean your room!’ And I would go ‘Not today!’ And he would say ‘Breakfast denied!’ And I would say ‘I want some eggs!’ And then he would say, ‘Broken ankles and yolks!’ And I would say ‘I’m not hungry!’ And I would get grounded. That’s usually how it would go.”
All in all, Noah Eagle is a talented individual. I can’t wait to see how much better he gets as he gets even more experience. Yes, he’ll get even better, which may be hard to believe.
DAD
Ian Eagle is a very accomplished broadcaster. Now with his son in the business as well there are bound to be comparisons and claims about how Noah got in it.
“I was nothing but encouraging, but I also knew the reality of the business,” the veteran (Ian) sportscaster told GQ. “The reality is, if you don’t have the talent to do it, it’s probably not going to work out for you.”
Of course, the word nepotism comes up often. The younger Eagle, responded to whether he’s bothered by that word or not in a conversation with The New York Post.
“No, because, listen: I understand that there is still something that comes with having a father who’s done this at the level that he’s done this. And even just having a father in the industry’s one thing, but one with such notoriety comes with anything, and I accept that, right?”, he told the Post.
“If I was offended by it and if I knew I was going to be offended by it, I wouldn’t have gone into the business, just plain and simple. So, knowing that I enjoy the job, knowing that I wake up excited to do the job, that drives me more than anything, and I understand where people are coming from, from that side of it, because yeah, there were doors that probably were opened, but then it was up to me to kick the door down, and that’s how I’ve always looked at it.”
A very healthy attitude toward the inevitable line of questioning.
DID YOU KNOW?
In May 2024, Noah won a Sports Emmy. He was named “Outstanding personality/emerging on air” for his play-by-play on the inaugural season of Big Ten Saturday Night on NBC and Peacock.
Performing is in the Eagle DNA. Noah’s grandfather, Jack, was a successful standup comedian and actor. His mother, Monica, was a singer. It was almost inevitable Noah would follow in the family tradition.
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Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
