This 1983 CBS Sports Saturday college football report features hosts Pat O’Brien and Ara Parseghian at the studio desk….as they provide highlights and analysis to ongoing games….including the University of Texas Longhorns in a tough battle with longtime SWC rival, the Baylor Bears…..along with the highlights of the game played the night before between the Boston College Eagles verses the Miami Hurricanes.
Pat O’Brien (born February 14, 1948) is an American sportscaster, author and radio host….who is best known for his work as a sportscaster with CBS Sports from 1981 to 1997….as well as his work as the anchor and host of Access Hollywood from 1997 to 2004….and The Insider from 2004 to 2008.
O’Brien covered six Olympic Games….with two for CBS at the 1992 and 1994 Winter….and four for NBC in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2012. He has also covered the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Final Four as a pregame host while at CBS….as seen in this video herewith.
He wrote the book Talkin’ Sports: A B.S.-er’s Guide, published in 1998….and released an autobiography, I’ll Be Back Right After This in 2014.
Ara Parseghian (May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach….who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973….who has been credited with bringing Fighting Irish football program from years of futility back into a national contender in 1964….and is widely regarded alongside Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy as a part of the “Holy Trinity” of Notre Dame head coaches.
Parseghian grew up in Akron, Ohio….while playing football beginning in his junior year of high school…..when he enrolled at the University of Akron….but soon quit to join the U.S. Navy for two years during World War II. After the war, he finished his college career at Miami University in Ohio….and went on to play halfback for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and 1949. Cleveland won the league championship both of those years.
He was hired as Notre Dame head coach in 1964….and quickly turned the program around….while coming close to capturing a national championship in his first year….then he proceeded to win two national titles in 11 seasons as coach of the Fighting Irish….which is a period often referred to as “the Era of Ara”. He never had a losing season at Notre Dame and posted an overall record of 95–17–4….giving him the third-most wins of any coach in school history after Rockne and Lou Holtz.
Ara Parseghian retired from coaching in 1974 and began a broadcasting career calling college football games for ABC and CBS. Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1980. His career coaching record is 170–58–6.
