The University of Notre Dame announced Tuesday that Chris Ackels will be taking over as the new public address announcer for the football stadium.
Ackels will fill in the shoes of Michael Collins, who was public address announcer for 39 years and who retired after the 2020 season. Collins called over 230 straight games in the Notre Dame stadium.
Ackels’ voice will be a brand-new welcoming sound for the student body and fans across the country when Notre Dame stadium reopens at full capacity in the fall, after COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance to the student body and few others in the 2020 season.
“I’m getting chills up my spine thinking about how much fun it’s going to be just to be with that community on a Saturday in South Bend,” Ackels told Fighting Irish Media.
Ackels will serve in this role for all Fighting Irish home football games, including the seven in this upcoming season.
Having worked with the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks before, Ackels currently resides in Chicago and serves as the in-stadium host and emcee for the Chicago White Sox, according to Fighting Irish Media. He has also announced events at four other universities. These include Saint Louis University and DePaul University, where he earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees, respectively.
This is not Ackel’s first foray into the college football world either ,as he has been the public address announcer in multiple conference championships and tournaments including games in the Big East, the Big Ten and the Atlantic 10.
