Eli Gold departing as play-by-play announcer for Alabama football games

The University of Alabama has announced that legendary broadcaster Eli Gold will no longer be the play-by-play announcer for its football games.

Gold has been the voice of Alabama football for 36 years. He was the primary football announcer and host of “Hey, Coach” on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

Chris Stewart, who has been with the network in a variety of positions since 1998, will assume both roles beginning with the Golden Flake A-Day Spring Football Game, the university said in a statement.

Gold told AL.com that he does not plan to retire.

“Well, the university has chosen not to bring me back,” Gold said. “This is not, with a capital N-O-T, not at all health-related. I am very healthy. Everything is wonderful. I am healthy as a horse.”

“Eli has been an invaluable member of our broadcast team,” said Jim Carabin, Vice President and General Manager of the Crimson Tide Sports Network. “We are grateful for his years of service and wish him all the best in this next chapter. CTSN is fortunate to have someone as part of our existing broadcast team in Chris to step up and seamlessly transition into this role.”

Throughout his career with the Crimson Tide, Gold called the action for seven national championship games, 11 SEC championships and 35 bowl games. He has been recognized nationally as recipient of the 2019 NFF Chris Schenkel Award by The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Football Hall of Fame, which is presented annually to individuals who have had long, distinguished careers broadcasting college football with direct ties to a specific university.

Additionally, Gold is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and The University of Alabama College of Communications and Information Sciences Hall of Fame, won multiple Alabama Sportscaster of the Year awards and has a scholarship named in his honor, benefiting University of Alabama students.

Gold missed the 2022 season due to health issues. In January 2023, he announced he had a treatable form of cancer. Gold returned for Alabama’s home games last year, which was also the final season for head coach Nick Saban.

(Copyright 2024. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)