Legendary Syracuse sports broadcasters return to campus and speak at “Headsets Off” panel

Syracuse University and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications hosted what Newhouse Sports Media Center Director Olivia Stomski called “the most impressive sports media panel in the history of broadcast,” Tuesday afternoon.

The “Headsets Off: Legends of Sports Broadcasting” panel featured Marv Albert, Bob Costas, Sean McDonough and Ian Eagle. 2025 Glickman Award winner Matt Park served as the event’s moderator. 

Over the ninety minutes of discussion, the four legendary SU alumni talked about a wide range of topics including the preparation behind a broadcast, finding your on-air voice, the world series, and Marty Glickman. 

Of the four Glickman Award winners on stage, Albert had the strongest connection with the iconic Marty Glickman himself. After studying at Syracuse from 1960 to 1963, Albert made his debut as a broadcaster for the New York Knicks at age 21, filling in for his boss and mentor: Marty Glickman. 

Albert would go on to be the voice of the Knicks for 37 straight years, while handling other tasks such as the NBA on NBC, Monday Night Football on Westwood One, and the radio call of the New York Rangers. Today, he’s commonly referred to as “the voice of basketball.”

“Marv Albert — that’s who I grew up wanting to be,” Eagle said on Tuesday afternoon. “To consider him a colleague and a friend, it goes beyond my wildest dreams.”

Eagle completed his studies at Syracuse in 1990, 19 years prior to his son Noah graduating from the school as an accomplished broadcaster himself. To Eagle and his family, Newhouse is special. 

“This is inspiring, the fact that we’re in a place where young people can gain experience,” said Eagle. “To me it’s the fact that all these years later, the interest level is as high as ever, which means Syracuse continues to produce talented and skilled broadcasters in every facet.”

Photo by Molly Mellinger

Panelist Bob Costas speaks with Ian Eagle during the Sports Media Panel at the Herg Auditorium on Tuesday, November 4.

To aspiring broadcasters, Eagle stresses the importance of making mistakes.

“Nobody starts in this business and is perfect. Everybody’s got to try before they can really get their legs under them.”

Although Eagle says that nobody is perfect right away in the sports broadcasting field, Costas is a rare exception. 

“I was pretty lucky, I had a magic carpet ride,” joked Costas Tuesday afternoon. 

Costas called Syracuse sports on WAER and minor league hockey on WSYR before getting his chance with KMOX radio in St. Louis, which he left Syracuse to take advantage of. From there, Costas jumped into a legendary career which featured him as a 29-time Emmy Award winner, primetime host of 12 Olympic Games, lead voice of 7 World Series’, and much more.

Costas’ greatness actually inspired the iconic voice of McDonough, as was revealed during Tuesday’s panel. 

“When Sean first did network television, I heard a lot that he sounded like me,” said Costas. “And I thought he was great from the jump, so I was flattered by that.” 

McDonough knew what he was doing, modelling his voice off one of the industry’s greats.

“If you’re gonna emulate somebody, might as well emulate the best,” he said. 

Throughout his own career, McDonough has become an industry leader himself, dabbling expansively in all four professional American sports leagues and primetime college athletics. Today, the Boston-native makes time to call a handful of games for his hometown team — the Boston Red Sox — alongside his duties as the lead voice of the NHL on ESPN. 

But most importantly, McDonough is thankful for those who helped pave the way for him and future broadcasters. 

“To see all these people here because they want to be Mike Tirico or Ian Eagle, it’s really special. And we owe it all to Marty (Glickman), but we really owe it to Marv and Bob,” McDonough said. “So on behalf of all of us, thank you guys.”

In addition to the four stars on center stage, other broadcasting alumni from the industry also returned to their old stomping ground Tuesday afternoon, including Boston Celtics broadcaster and ESPN employee Drew Carter. 

As a 2019 graduate of SU, Carter knows what it’s like to be an up-and-coming broadcaster in today’s world. 

“My first job was in local news in Alabama doing no play-by-play. But I found ways to keep that skill sharp,” Carter said. 

By working hard and sticking to his passion, Carter worked his way into the lead play-by-play role for the 2024 NBA champions. 

“The cool thing is, I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do,” Carter said. 

Following the panel, the broadcasters honored the 2025 recipient of the Marty Glickman Award, Matt Park. The 1997 Syracuse graduate was rewarded for his work as the “Voice of the Orange” by a hall-of-fame cast of Newhouse alumni — the same alumni who have constructed a nationwide sports media legacy right here in Syracuse.