Jac Collinsworth (born February 13, 1995) is an American sportscaster working for NBC Sports since 2020. He also worked for ESPN on their NFL Live and Sunday NFL Countdown.[1] At NBC, Collinsworth serves as a play-by-play announcer for Big Ten and Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball. Additionally, he co-hosts NBC's Football Night in America.

Jac Collinsworth
Collinsworth in 2021
Born (1995-02-13) February 13, 1995 (age 29)
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame
OccupationSportscaster
Years active2013–present
Employer(s)ESPN (2017–2020)
Comcast (2013–2017, 2020-present)
TelevisionESPN/ABC (2017–2020)
NBC Sports (2013–2017, 2020–present)

He previously was a play-by-play announcer for the USFL on NBC and Notre Dame Football on NBC.

Early life and education

edit

Collinsworth was born in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, on February 13, 1995.[1] He is the son of former NFL wide receiver and current NBC Sports commentator Cris Collinsworth. Collinsworth attended Highlands High School and played on the football team. However, a back injury sidetracked him from playing football in college.[2]

As a high school student, Collinsworth first got involved with broadcasting by recording, editing and producing videos.[2] Collinsworth attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 2017.[2] While a student there, he founded and hosted ND Live, a digital series covering the Notre Dame football team.[3] He also covered Notre Dame's pro day for NFL Network in 2016 and 2017.[3]

Career

edit

First stint at NBC (2013–2017)

edit

As a student at Notre Dame, Collinsworth worked for NBC on their sideline production team for Notre Dame football from 2013 until 2017.[1] In 2016 and 2017, he served as a sideline reporter for NBC's production of Notre Dame's Blue-Gold spring football game.[1] Collinsworth served as NBC's social media correspondent at the 2016 Rio Olympics.[3]

ESPN (2017–2020)

edit

Following his work at NBC while a student at Notre Dame, Collinsworth began working at ESPN in 2017. He started off as a features reporter for Sunday NFL Countdown and in 2018 started hosting NFL Live during the NFL offseason.[2] He also hosted the ACC Network's premier football show The Huddle.[1]

Second stint at NBC (2020–present)

edit

After three years at ESPN, Collinsworth returned to NBC in 2020.[3] At NBC, Collinsworth serves as the co-host of Football Night in America. He served as the host for the pre and post-game show for Notre Dame Football on NBC. Collinsworth is also a pre and post-race studio host for NASCAR on NBC.[1] He serves as the play-by-play announcer for Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball and is the voice of the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament.[1]

In 2021, Collinsworth served as a reporter for NBC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby, pre-race host of the Indianapolis 500 and an on-site contributor for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics on Peacock.[1]

Collinsworth made his Super Bowl debut in 2022 as the co-host of the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show.[1] Later that year, Collinsworth served as a play-by-play announcer for NBC's coverage of the USFL.[4] Additionally, Collinsworth was promoted to be the play-by-play voice of Notre Dame football for the 2022 season.[5]

With Peacock adding coverage of Big Ten basketball starting with the 2023–24 season, Collinsworth was selected as one of the conference's play-by-play announcers.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "JAC COLLINSWORTH". NBC. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  2. ^ a b c d "Catching up on Notre Dame grad Jac Collinsworth's rising star". ND Insider. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jac Collinsworth - Cris' son - leaves ESPN for NBC Sports". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  4. ^ "Fox, NBC firm up USFL broadcast teams, adding Jac Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Mark Sanchez, among others". Awful Announcing. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  5. ^ "Time is now for Jac Collinsworth as the television voice of Notre Dame football on NBC".
  6. ^ "BIG TEN BASKETBALL ANNOUNCERS NAMED FOR 2023-24 SEASON EXCLUSIVELY ON PEACOCK, FEATURING 50+ MEN'S AND WOMEN'S GAMES". 9 October 2023.