Calling Team USA Basketball at the Olympics a ‘Special Honor’ for Noah Eagle ’19
The Super Bowl. French Open tennis. Primetime college football and basketball games between nationally ranked opponents. The radio play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
In the ever-competitive field of sports broadcasting, what Noah Eagle ’19 has accomplished in his six-year professional career is quite impressive. In May, Eagle’s hard work was recognized by his peers, as he won the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On Air after his debut season calling “Big Ten Saturday Night,” the weekly primetime Big Ten football game broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
Eagle’s ascension has been meteoric—the Clippers hired him right after he graduated with a broadcast and digital journalism degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications—and he’s just scratching the surface of his potential. His next assignment takes him to Paris, France, as the play-by-play broadcaster for Team USA men’s and women’s basketball at the Summer Olympics.
For someone who grew up a “massive” fan of the NBA, broadcasting Team USA games at the Olympics is a “special honor,” says Eagle. Especially since he will call games involving NBA players he has long admired—like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry—and will be on the mic as the U.S. women’s team pursues their unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.
“Basketball has been a passion of mine for a long time, and when I look at this specific assignment, it’s a dream come true. Watching Team USA at the Olympics helped grow my love for the sport, especially the ‘Redeem Team’ in 2008 that brought back the gold medal for the U.S. I remember parking myself on the couch during those Olympics and watching LeBron James play with Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse basketball royalty. Those were legends of the game. Now, I’m calling Team USA games with LeBron, K.D. and Steph, who are legends of the game. There’s something special about calling basketball games while representing your country,” Eagle says.
Sportscasting and a love for Syracuse University runs in the family. Noah’s father, Ian ’90, has handled play-by-play for CBS Sports’ NFL games since 1998 and concluded his first year as the network’s lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. His mother, Alisa (Terry) Eagle ’90, earned a retailing degree from what is now the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, and his sister, Erin ’21, earned an advertising degree from Newhouse.
“When I’m calling games, I’ve always got an orange wristband on my right wrist that shows my Orange connection,” Eagle says. “There’s always so much love to the ’Cuse. As my mom always says, Syracuse University is our happy place.”