After two years as NBC's play-by-play voice at Notre Dame, Jac Collinsworth is no longer with the team, officials informed of the decision told The Athletic.
NBC veteran Dan Hicks will replace Collinsworth and work alongside analyst Jason Garrett. Hicks announced Notre Dame games a decade ago. He is best known for his duties on the PGA Tour.
Starting next fall, NBC plans to use Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge as the No. 1 broadcast team for all college football coverage. The 27-year-old Eagle and 62-year-old Blackledge received strong reviews in the Big Ten and the NFL games they called.
NBC wanted to reward them. While they will continue to focus primarily on primetime Big Ten matchups, the duo will cancel the game if the network deems a Notre Dame game to be the most attractive on its schedule for a given week.
NBC declined to comment.
Last fall, NBC re-signed to broadcast Notre Dame's home games through 2029. New Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua was previously chairman of NBC Sports.
Collinsworth, the son of NBC's “Sunday Night Football” analyst Cris, was tapped for the role by the network's executive producer Sam Flood, even though Jac had little play-by-play experience. From the first game, Collinsworth seemed out of place for such a high-profile position and was particularly scrutinized because of his last name. Collinsworth, 29, graduated from Notre Dame in 2017.
NBC continues to value Collinsworth's work as a reporter on “Football Night in America” and the Olympics. He will continue to call college football and basketball play-by-play on the network's streaming service, Peacock, where he can continue to hone his craft.
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