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Copublisher Eric Hansen
Email: ehansen@insidendsports.com
Twitter: @EHansenND
What became a passion that came with a paycheck for Eric Hansen started out very much as an accidental journey. Four academic quarters into his time as a student at The Ohio State University, Hansen was a struggling business major on academic probation when his older sister — a broadcast journalism major at OSU — needed some help with a sports-writing project during his sophomore year.
She got an A. He got a life-changing trajectory. Oh, and having that direction in life helped inspire a better academic/social life balance. From that point forward, Hansen was a Dean’s List student for the remainder of his college career.
A man named Sandy Schwartz took a chance on Hansen about that time when Hansen was looking for a part-time job. Schwartz was the sports editor at the Columbus (Ohio) Citizen-Journal and was sort of aghast at how someone with so little experience could ask him for a job. He politely but firmly asked Hansen to call back when he had taken more journalism classes and had a more proven track record. For some reason, a few days later he changed his mind and hired Hansen.
The more than 20 national awards and dozens of state writing awards that Hansen has won since moving into the profession full-time in 1983 are, above all, the result and good fortune of people believing in him and creating a work environment where he could grow and excel. From the Columbus (Ind.) Republic for 3 ½ years to the Hammond (Ind.) Times for 18 months, to more than a 33-year run at the South Bend Tribune, Hansen’s emphasis has been college sports with the last 25 of those years focused on Notre Dame football. More to the point, it’s been about covering the people who make college sports what they are.
Last spring Hansen was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
On Jan. 1, 2022, the journey continued for the first time outside the traditional newspaper business as Hansen and SB Trib co-worker Tyler James started their own publishing company and joined the Rivals Network as the Notre Dame athletics team site, Inside ND Sports.
And finally, those business classes from Ohio State came in handy.
Hansen serves as Inside ND Sports' lead columnist and contributes to our daily coverage of ND football through his weekly live chats, Inside ND Sports podcasts, our YouTube shows —Monday Night Live and Football Never Sleeps — stories and analysis pieces. He also leads our Irish baseball coverage and women's basketball recruiting coverage.
Hansen lives in South Bend, Ind.
Copublisher Tyler James
Email: tjames@insidendports.com
Twitter: @TJamesND
Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics for his entire professional career. After graduating from DePauw University in 2011, James spent the first several months as a freelancer for the South Bend Tribune and The Associated Press, with coverage of Notre Dame football, recruiting and basketball. He became a full-time writer for the South Bend Tribune in 2012 as a Notre Dame football recruiting reporter and took on football beat responsibilities in 2018.
James left the Tribune with Hansen in 2022 to start Inside ND Sports. James continues to follow Notre Dame football across the country as the site’s beat reporter and oversees its football and men’s basketball recruiting coverage.
James authored “The Monon Bell Rivalry: Classic Clashes of DePauw vs. Wabash,” a book published in 2013 by The History Press. In 2022, he was inducted into the La Porte Slicer Football Association Hall of Fame. His passion for sports writing came from a love of playing and watching sports as the son of a high school football coach, Bob James, and a nudge from a high school English teacher, Greg Fruth.
James lives in nearby Mishawaka, Ind.
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