
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2023: Cris Collinsworth, the Familiar Football Analyst in Primetime By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 - 11:29 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Hanging up the cleats after a 15-year playing career and going directly into sports broadcasting can be quite daunting, but no one has transitioned as seamlessly as Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Cris Collinsworth. Becoming synonymous with immense energy, the expertise of breaking down a play with precision, and the smoothest entrance to a broadcast in the business, the 17-time Sports Emmy Award winner - nine as a game analyst and eight as a studio analyst - is one of the most accomplished talent in sports television.
Cris is among the best to ever work as an analyst on any sport, says NBCUniversal Media Group Chairman Mark Lazarus. He has a truckload of Emmys for his work, but he also happens to be a great friend to many - a giving person who belongs in any Hall of Fame. His inclusion in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame is long overdue.
Collinsworth was born in the official birthplace of aviation: Dayton, OH. Immediately, Collinsworth took flight into a life in sports at an early age. Parented by a pair of educators - his mother Donetta, a teacher, and his father Abraham, a teacher turned principal turned superintendent - he took after his father's athletic pedigree. Abraham was a standout star on the hardwood: he completed his high school career as one of the top scorers in Kentucky high-school basketball history and eventually enrolled in the University of Kentucky, where he won the 1958 national championship over Seattle University. The Collinsworths eventually moved to the state of Florida when Cris was four
Collinsworth made his first appearance on NBC Sports in 1990.
years old, and 10 years later, he attended Astronaut High School in Titusville, FL. With the school being separated by only the Indian River from nearby Kennedy Space Center, he continued his knack for upward trajectory. His most notable achievements include winning the state championship in the 100-yard-dash and being named a high-school All-American quarterback in his senior year in 1976.
With his prowess on the field, Collinsworth earned a scholarship to play college football at a top SEC school 158 miles northwest of home: the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. Despite his quarterback career only lasting his freshmen season, Collinsworth's best collegiate touchdown happened on his first ever throwing attempt in a Gators uniform. The play in the fourth quarter against Rice University on Sept. 17, 1977, resulted in a 99-yard pass, which is still one of the longest touchdown passes in college football history. In his sophomore season, he moved to wide receiver and ended his college career with three First Team All-SEC selections (1978-1980) and a First Team All-American selection in 1980.
With the Cincinnati Bengals drafting him in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, Collinsworth enjoyed a reunion of sorts with his home state with all eight years of his professional career being played in the Queen City. His time in the orange-and-black stripes saw numerous highs, including the then-rookie receptions record with 67 (the total was tied by Tee Higgins in 2020 and broken by Ja'Marr Chase the following year
Collinsworth and NBCUniversal Media Group Chairman Mark Lazarus
with 81), four 1,000-yard seasons, three consecutive Pro Bowls from 1981-1983, and two Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XVI in 1982 and Super Bowl XXIII in 1989)..
With his playing days in the rearview mirror, and a short stint as a sports radio talk show host at WLW in Cincinnati, he made his break into the
big time as a reporter on HBO's Inside the NFL in 1989. After one year, Collinsworth experienced his first taste of NBC Sports when he joined as an analyst for the network's NFL and college football broadcasts with play-by-play commentator Tom Hammond in 1990. Collinsworth would shift to the NFL on NBC pregame show with host Greg Gumbel, analysts Joe Gibbs and Mike Ditka, and reporter Ahmad Rashad in 1996. A young Rob Hyland, who is now the coordinating producer of NBC's Sunday Night Football, would join the same company in 1997 as Collinsworth started hitting his stride as a reliable voice behind the microphone.
Cris is one of the most honest and fearless broadcasters of our generation, says Hyland. He is curious, thoughtful, and has a great sense of humor, which all play into his unique ability to make football's most complicated intricacies understandable and enjoyable for 20 million people every Sunday night. With his tireless work making sure we are prepared for every potential scenario, Cris makes everyone he works with better.
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers David Hill (left) and Dick Ebersol (right) were key to Collinsworth's success at Fox Sports and NBC Sports, respectively.
With NBC Sports losing their media rights to the NFL in 1998, he joined Fox Sports as an analyst on Fox NFL Sunday. Opting for a return to the booth, he paired up with Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Joe Buck in his first year as lead play-by-play commentator and a recently retired Troy Aikman in 2002. Three years later at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Collinsworth would work his first Super Bowl as a broadcaster. In 2006, Collinsworth's stock would rise as he was seen on three separate networks during the NFL season: as co-host of HBO's Inside the NFL, as a studio analyst for NBC's Football Night in America, and as a color commentator for live games on the then three-year-old NFL Network. For many, this is where Collinsworth's success shines the brightest.
Michaels and Collinsworth in the booth of Raymond James Stadium for Rams-Buccaneers in the 2021 NFC
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
16/04/2026
Appear ASA (OSE: APR) will announce three additions to its X Platform at NAB Sho...
16/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that CentralCast, a centralized master control facility for U.S. public media, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor t...
16/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Encompass Digital Media has integrated its BA...
16/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate its Media Infrastructure capabilities at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C2408, Central Hall), bringing routing, signal processing, and orche...
16/04/2026
As preparations ramp up for the FIFA World Cup 2026, Verizon has outlined a sweeping connectivity and infrastructure initiative that will underpin broadcast ope...
16/04/2026
Advanced Image Robotics (AIR) has announced its selection for the 2026 MLS Innovation Lab. AIR will work with MLS clubs, players, and executives on automated vi...
16/04/2026
JWX has announced the acquisition of True Anthem, an AI-powered social publishin...
16/04/2026
Jomboy Media and FuboTV Inc. have launched the Jomboy Media Channel, a 24/7 channel available to FuboTV base plan subscribers. The channel, timed to the start o...
16/04/2026
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company (Booth C2820), and EVS Broadcast Equipmen...
16/04/2026
Tata Communications and Formula 1 have released Race Before the Race, the firs...
16/04/2026
DPA Microphones has released a firmware update for its N-Series Digital Wireless...
16/04/2026
Sony's Live Stage at NAB Show 2026 is the place to hear directly from the content creators, end users, and technology experts who are pushing boundaries in ...
16/04/2026
Perfect Game and Youth Prospects have announced a partnership covering broadcast...
16/04/2026
National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced a media rights partnership with Al...
16/04/2026
Audio-Technica has announced two new mid-side (MS) stereo broadcast microphones:...
16/04/2026
PSSI Global Services has announced the acquisition of Beagle Networks, a provider of IT infrastructure and onsite technical support for media and enterprise cus...
16/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has released Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3, a free update available now from the Apple App Store. The update will be demonstrated at NAB Show ...
16/04/2026
As live sports production continues to expand across linear, digital, and in-ven...
16/04/2026
Part of an infrastructure upgrade, the recently constructed spaces accommodate n...
16/04/2026
NBC has added NEP's Supershooter 11, which only just came online in time for...
16/04/2026
At Spotify, we want your experience to feel intuitive and personal across every moment of the day. Whether you're streaming your favorite playlist while you...
16/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
16/04/2026
Compact unit offers hands-on plug-in control
Softube have just announced the launch of their latest hardware unit, the Flow Studio. Housed in a compact desk...
16/04/2026
Use any VST3 plug-in on immersive audio
Fiedler Audio have just released a powerful new plug-in wrapper that brings full VST3 processing to Dolby Atmos and ...
16/04/2026
Analysis plug-in gains enhanced frequency readouts
Nugen Audio's real-time analysis plug-in has just received a significant update that introduces some ...
16/04/2026
Recording & Music Technology Show
Sound On Sound are pleased to announce a new recording and music technology exhibition taking place in London on Saturday ...
16/04/2026
SBS reveals all-star alumni team to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Co...
16/04/2026
For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...
16/04/2026
The integration accelerates demographic audience delivery across local markets a...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Telestream Cloud Services, including Vantage Cloud, UP, and SENTRY monitoring tools, are now optimized for OCI, powering flexible multi-cloud media orchestratio...
16/04/2026
Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) today announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), naming AWS as its preferre...
16/04/2026
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, today announced an ISDB-Tb capabilit...
16/04/2026
Synamedia and SoFast announce strategic go-to-market partnership to accelerate FAST, pay-TV, and VOD
At the NAB Show 2026, Synamedia and SoFast are announcing ...
16/04/2026
Showcases New, Open-Standard IP Solutions Across Its Portfolio, From Production to Playout
Imagine Communications is marking a decade of leadership in ST 2110 ...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Sportway Media Group, a world leading AI-automated sports production company and Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative sol...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/04/2026
AJA Enters into Agreement to Acquire Video Encoding Software Company Comprimato
Brie Clayton April 15, 2026
0 Comments
Deal will expand AJA's video ...
16/04/2026
Deity Announces PR-4 Compact Field Recorder with Pre-Orders Launching April 14
Brie Clayton April 15, 2026
0 Comments
Deity Microphones today announce...