CBS Sports’ Ian Eagle says there is one guarantee in the NCAA Tournament
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ian Eagle says broadcasters must tell stories of unknown players who emerge.
- Tournament spotlight lets small schools and overlooked athletes emerge nationally.
- Eagle prioritizes calling games and humanizing players to inform viewers.
Few basketball fans knew of Ali Farokhmanesh ahead of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, but his name comes up every March because his clutch 3-pointer lifted Northern Iowa past the Jayhawks.
We all learned about the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers when they stunned top-seeded Virginia in the first round in 2018. And Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis were not well known until they helped Florida Atlantic make the Final Four in 2023.
For CBS Sports broadcaster Ian Eagle, those Cinderella tales are what makes the NCAA Tournament so great and why his job so important. During a conference call last week, Eagle made a guarantee.
“There’s a massive responsibility to tell these stories and to do these athletes and these moments justice, because for three weeks, they take center stage,” Eagle said. “I can guarantee you right now — guaranteed — there will be somebody that you’ve never heard of prior to today that captures everyone’s attention at some point during the tournament. And that’s what makes this event so special.
“You go into the postseason of any other sport, and you basically know everybody that’s participating, and in this particular event you don’t. There are smaller schools, there are players that emerge out of nowhere, and they can etch their name into history. And it really does make this event very special and very unique.”
Who will be that relative unknown to burst into the consciousness of sports fans in this year’s NCAA Tournament? We’ll find out starting Thursday.
Eagle explained how he approaches his job as CBS Sports’ top play-by-play man during March Madness.
“That’s a big part of the tournament,” Eagle said, “not just calling the games and making sure that you are on top of the action, but also humanizing the players, the programs, the coaches, and making sure that over three weeks, our viewing public is more informed and more entertained than they were when this all started.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
