Liam McHugh (born ) is an American television sportscaster. He is a studio host for
Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
coverage of the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
. He previously worked on
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
coverage of the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
as well as
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...
and ''
NBC Sunday Night Football
''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
''. He was also perhaps the face of
NBCSN
NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
, anchoring much of its staple programming, including the NHL, Tour De France, college football, college basketball and the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, prior to joining Turner.
Early life and education
McHugh grew up in Williston Park on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
and played basketball and soccer at
Herricks High School
Herricks High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school with 1450 students accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and the Middle States Association. The school is located in Searingtown, New York, 20 miles east of Manhattan. ...
. His father, Frank McHugh, was a long-time track coach at a different high school on Long Island called Elmont. McHugh graduated from the
University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
and received his master's degree from
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
's
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, commonly known as Newhouse School, is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; music business; graphic ...
in 2004.
Career
Prior to joining NBC, he worked at ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' (1999-2001),
WTHI in
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
(2004-2007),
KOKH in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
(2007-2009), and ''
ESPN The Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...
'' (2001-2007). On April 5, 2010, ''The Daily Line'' debuted with McHugh as host. The show consisted of a four-person panel (host McHugh, handicapper Rob DeAngelis, comedian Reese Waters, and former ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' model
Jenn Sterger
Jennifer Lynette Sterger (born November 29, 1983) is an American model, television personality, and former online columnist for ''Sports Illustrated''. She has worked as the "Gameday Host" for the New York Jets and was a co-host of the Versus s ...
) which discussed, often with heavy satire, sports-related topics that were popular that day and aired on Versus. However, the show was canceled due to low viewership on November 4, 2010. McHugh would be retained by the network to originally work on NHL coverage, mostly on ''NHL Overtime'' and'' Hockey Central''.
In 2011, McHugh began the year as the host of ''
NHL Live
''NHL Live'' is a television show on NBC Sports Network. The program airs after every National Hockey League game the network televises as part of ''NHL on NBC''. The postgame show was initially known as ''Hockey Central'', airing from their St ...
'', the network's pre- and post-game show that airs before and after each NHL telecast. He also contributed to NBC's
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
coverage, hosting Games 1 and 2. In the summer of 2011, McHugh stepped into the role of host for NBC's live daily coverage of the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
. In the fall, he contributed to
NBCSN
NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
's college football coverage as the host of the newly created ''College Football Talk'', a weekly wrap up show. Additionally, he served each week as the host for the network's studio show before and after game coverage.
2012 saw McHugh return to NBC and NBCSN’s coverage of the NHL as lead studio host. He hosted ''NHL Live'' several times weekly and the ''
NHL on NBC
The ''NHL on NBC'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC properties, including MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network and NBCSN in the United States.
While NBC covered t ...
'' intermission report weekly. He finished off the 2011-2012 NHL season in his biggest role to date, hosting every game of the
2012 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) season, and the culmination of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are ...
. He served as a reporter for NBC's
Super Bowl XLVI
Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
pre-game coverage. McHugh expanded his portfolio even farther as he was to be a part of
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
's coverage of the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
McHugh hosted the afternoon action on NBCSN daily throughout the games. In the fall, he continued to host NBC's college football studio show alongside
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...
and newcomer
Hines Ward
Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...
. In November 2012, McHugh hosted NBCSN’s Carrier Classic Countdown, live from the deck of the USS Bataan, as well as pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage. He made his Winter Olympics debut as a hockey host at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi for NBC.
For the final 6 weeks of the 2015-2016
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
season, McHugh filled in as the lead studio host for the Monday afternoon
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
games while
Rebecca Lowe
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
was on maternity leave. He continued in that capacity for the next five
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
seasons when he has no NHL responsibilities for
NBCSN
NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
.
During the
2017 NFL season
The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with Kansas City defeating defending Super Bowl LI champion New England in ...
, McHugh was named the new studio host for NBC’s joint coverage of
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
with
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
. He replaced
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
, who stepped down from most of his on-air roles at NBC, including the Olympics.
Shortly before
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...
, it was announced that McHugh would join
Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to:
* Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player
* Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist
* Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...
as a studio co-host for the game, filling in for
Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's '' Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play an ...
as the latter prepared to anchor the
2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
, set to open a few days later. McHugh later joined
Football Night in America
''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Nation ...
full-time starting with the
2018 NFL season
The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with defending Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia defeating At ...
, taking Tirico’s spot, as Tirico moved to the studio to replace the departed Patrick.
Following NBC’s last
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
, their coverage of the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
,
and after being left off the Football Night in America roster for the
2021 NFL season
The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...
, McHugh departed NBC to join
Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
for their
NHL coverage. McHugh joined
Kenny Albert
Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ma ...
,
Eddie Olczyk
Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. (; born August 16, 1966) is a former center in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He ...
,
Keith Jones,
Anson Carter
Anson Horace Carter (born June 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eight teams, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He was la ...
, and
John Forslund
John Forslund is an American sports announcer who is the television play-by-play announcer of the Seattle Kraken. He had previously filled the same role for the Carolina Hurricanes and was with the team since 1991 (when the team was the Hartford W ...
, who all jumped from NBC to Turner after the former lost the NHL rights to the latter.
References
External links
NBC bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Liam
American radio sports announcers
American television sports announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
Cycling announcers
Living people
National Football League announcers
National Hockey League broadcasters
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football announcers
Olympic Games broadcasters
Place of birth missing (living people)
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni
University at Buffalo alumni
People from Williston Park, New York
Year of birth missing (living people)
Herricks High School alumni