On Wednesday afternoon Notre Dame, in conjunction with JMI Sports and Legends, introduced the football team's new radio crew for the 2018 season.
NBC Sports’ Paul Burmeister has been assigned the play-by-play detail, 2003-06 Notre Dame starting offensive tackle Ryan Harris will be the color analyst, and long-time Notre Dame football and basketball announcer Jack Nolan, now in his 37th year covering the Fighting Irish, will handle the sideline reporter role.
Paul Burmeister
The Iowa City, Iowa native played quarterback for head coach Hayden Fry at Iowa from 1989-93, earning team MVP honors as a senior captain for the 6-6 Hawkeyes and receiving a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings.
One of his teammates at Iowa was linebacker Bob Diaco, Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator from 2010-13 who won the Frank Broyles Award in 2012 as the nation’s top assistant.
This will be Burmeister's first journey into radio since the late 1990s when he covered high school football in his native state. In 2004 he joined the NFL Network and was involved in various duties there for 10 years before expanding and joining NBC Sports, serving as an NFL studio host and play-by-play commentator in various sports, from water polo or ski jumping in the Summer or Winter Olympics, to football in the Mountain West and Ivy League, to basketball in the Atlantic 10.
On NBCSN he handled the play-by-play for the Notre Dame-Miami (Ohio) game last September and each of the past three Blue-Gold Games.
Speaking to a radio audience instead of one on television will be his primary adjustment.
“My background is football on television, so there certainly will be a learning curve,” Burmeister admitted. “On TV your words are enhancing what people can already see. On radio you have to advance that three or four levels. You are creating the picture, not enhancing it. The constant reminder for me is the listeners can never be deprived of time, score, down, distance, location — that has to be constant.
“Once the play happens, your description of what’s happening has to be quicker, it has to be more consistent and more active. When you’re calling the game on TV, you’re watching it along with people. I’m the only one watching it (on radio) in terms of the people that are listening. Descriptions have to be more active and the reminders of the basics have to be constant. I know that going in. I can make it sound easy when we’re sitting here talking, but I know it’s going to be a challenge when I’m used to being in the booth on TV.”
Nevertheless, bypassing this opportunity would have been unforgivable to Burmeister.
“This is the kind of job people get and hang on to forever, or as long as they can,” he said. “I feel super fortunate to be here … You know what this brand means and the kind of interest that it attracts.”
Ryan Harris
Notre Dame has become “Left Tackle U.,” under head coach Brian Kelly, who has had a first-round selection at the position start for him all 103 games with the Irish: Zack Martin (2010-13), Ronnie Stanley (2014-15) and Mike McGlinchey (2016-17).
One should not forget Harris, though, whose college (2003-06) career with the Irish and then in the NFL (2007-16) does not take a back seat to any of them.
He cracked Notre Dame’s starting lineup in the fifth game of his freshman year and started the remaining eight at right tackle. He then started all 37 games at left tackle the next three campaigns, with trips to the Fiesta and Sugar Bowl his last two years. Selected in the third round, Harris' 10-year NFL career was highlighted with him as the starting left tackle for the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos.
A loquacious and highly intelligent go-to figure with the media in college and the NFL throughout his playing career, Harris is the current host of The Kreckman and Harris radio show on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio AM 950. Last year he worked with Fighting Irish Media on its football gameday coverage.
He prides himself on “humanizing” the game, especially as a former Fighting Irish stalwart.
“It’s an honor not only to be still a part of Our Lady’s University and be a loyal son, but also bring perspective of the actual student-athlete who has played in this stadium in these types of games for our listeners,” Harris said.
“For me it’s understanding what these young men go through on a daily basis, whether it’s going from an 8 a.m. lift to a 9:30 class, to a 2 o’clock practice, to a study hall from 7:30 to 10, and then going back and doing it again. I think it’s always important to illustrate the effort that players go through — and sometimes the best efforts fail.
“Failure can be very productive, especially in football … Sometimes the best plays of the year happen on a broken play. Being able to illustrate those things and talk about what’s important ... or if something bad does happen, what does that mean in the future, what is the big picture, how does that affect the team, the standings, College Football Playoffs? … That’s how I’ve balanced being a fan and also an analyst.”
Jack Nolan
Currently the Talent & Affiliate Networks Program Director for Fighting Irish Media, Nolan has been involved in the coverage of Notre Dame athletics since 1982.
While announcing Notre Dame football games from 1982-90 (before the NBC contract began in 1991), Nolan won three Indiana Associated Press Best Play-by-Play awards for his coverage.
Perhaps better known now as “The Voice of Notre Dame Men’s Basketball,” he joined the then ISP Football Radio Network in 2010 as pregame show host and has continued to play a role on the Notre Dame Football Radio Network, winning the Chicago/Midwest Emmy® for Best On-Camera Sports Talent in 2015.
Notre Dame wanted a local component to cover the day-to-day aspects of the team — including player and coach interviews — and Nolan fits the role ideally with his background, name recognition and long-time trust gained from everyone within the school.
He will provide the information throughout the contest on any developments on the field, and also conduct the post-game on-the-field interview with Kelly. The production schedule also has changed for Fighting Irish Media so it can be better streamlined for the audience.
“I will actually be doing the television for Inside Notre Dame Football with Coach Kelly right after each game,” Nolan said. “When he gets done with his media responsibilities, he’ll take a break, freshen up, and then he’ll sit down with me — and that’s on the road as well.
“This is going to help us with our production schedule and it’s going to make it more efficient for him, so there were a number of reasons to include me on the team.”
Because there is a football/basketball overlap in November, Nolan will not announce some of the weekend games on the hardwood that month (a substitute is still to be determined), but will thereafter, other than during bowl game duties.
“One thing I did make clear is I would never give up basketball,” said Nolan of his interview for his newest role. “It’s been my love since 1982 when I became involved with the broadcast.”
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