FILE - Brooklyn Nets broadcaster Ian Eagle, center, waves to the crowd as Nets’ CEO Brett Yormark, left, applauds during a ceremony honoring Eagle’s 25-year broadcast career at an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in New York. Eagle’s wife Amy is at right.
Eagle — who has been with CBS since 1998 — had taken on an increased schedule of college basketball games on CBS even before Nantz announced in October 2022 that he was stepping away from the tournament. Eagle has called many of the network’s top regular-season matchups for the past five seasons and said this season’s workload was similar to past years.
Raftery has had a unique perspective on Nantz and Eagle’s career rise. He was the analyst for Nantz’s first NCAA Tournament game on CBS in 1986 and then worked with Nantz in the studio for a couple of years during the regional rounds. “He just brings everybody into the fray, whether it’s the fans or his coworkers. I think his impact is going to be extraordinary. We’re going to miss Jim, but, you know, it’s being handed over to one of the classiest, most talented guys in the business.”