Since 2009, former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Cris Collinsworth has been in NBC’s Sunday Night Football booth with Al Michaels. Collinsworth, who has also worked for Showtime, NFL Network and Fox Sports, is married to Holly Bankemper Collinsworth and they have four children.
The 58-year-old Collinsworth was born in Dayton, Ohio and played in college for the Florida Gators. He was drafted in 1981 and played in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. He retired after the 1988 season with 417 receptions, 6,698 yards and 36 receiving touchdowns.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Collinsworths Have Been Married Since 1989 & Both Attended the University of Cincinnati
Holly and Collinsworth have been married since 1989. A 2002 Cincinnati Enquirer profile notes that they both attended the University of Cincinnati. In 1988, Holly earned her law degree. They married in 1989, and Collinsworth earned his own law degree in 1991.
While Holly decided to use her law degree, Collinsworth didn’t. After retiring, he went into broadcasting instead.
“The one thing I learned from five years of law school is that I definitely didn’t want to be an attorney. So it worked out great,” Collinsworth told the Enquirer in 2002.
2. Holly Is an Attorney in Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Collinsworth and Holly live in Fort Thomas, Kentucky and were active in their community when their children were growing up. He even helped install an all-weather field at Highlands High School, Holly’s alma mater. Holly Collinsworth is a practicing attorney in Fort Thomas and is a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association.
“My wife is very happy here. Her parents are five minutes away. Her brother and sister are nearby. With me being away so much, it really does help that they’re around to help. And I like it here, too,” Collinsworth told the Enquirer in 2002.
Fort Thomas is where Holly grew up and her parents still live there. Northern Kentucky Magazine notes that they thought about moving to Los Angeles full-time when Collinsworth was working for Fox Sports, but they decided against it.
“I consider the successful life for me to be: Am I married to the same woman that I married when I was 30 years old? Are my kids fairly normal and successful and have an opportunity to do good things in their lives? That’s kind of it,” Collinsworth told the magazine in 2011. “I always really thought the best opportunity for the success of our family was to stay here with the community that helped raise them.”
3. Their Son, Austin Collinsworth, Played College Football at Notre Dame
The Collinsworths have four children – Katie, Austin, Ashley and Jac. Austin considered following his father into football and played safety at Notre Dame. According to Austin’s LinkedIn page, he earned a Masters in Finance in 2014. He’s now the Vice President of Digital Distribution for the app Pro Football Focus.
Austin played at Notre Dame as a safety for five seasons, although he missed his junior season with an injury. Unfortunately, the fifth season ended early with another injury. However, as he told NCAA in 2014, he had no regrets.
“It’s sad. It’s the end of my football career more than likely, but going out with the guys that I went out with, I honestly — this is the truth — I love those guys,” Austin told NCAA.com. “I love everybody in that locker room. And to be a part of this program with those guys, it’s just been such a blessing, it’s hard for me to say anything bad.”
4. Daughter Ashley Collinsworth Ran Track at Harvard & Has a Degree in Psychology
Collinsworth’s youngest daughter, Ashley, is a Harvard graduate. As she notes on her LinkedIn page, Ashley graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s in psychology. Today, she is a sales coordinator at 21c Museum Hotels. You can follow her on Twitter here.
Ashley was a track and field athlete at Harvard. She excelled there, just as she did in high school. She was on the Cincinnati Enquirer first team all-state for her junior and senior high school seasons and a four-time academic all-state track athlete.
“I’ve told her repeatedly that she’s taken my gene pool to a whole new level—there’s nothing in her genetic makeup on my side that would point to Harvard University,” Collinsworth told The Crimson in 2012. “There is nothing that anybody could do to make me any prouder of my daughter than what she’s accomplishing at Harvard.”
“I’m proud of my dad and what he does,” Ashley told the Crimson. “He works hard.”
5. Katie Collinsworth Works for the Golf Channel & Jac Collinsworth Is Now at ESPN
Holly and Cris Collinsworth’s two other children are also working in broadcasting, although in different sectors. Katie Collinsworth Hughes, who attended Florida, works for Golf Channel’s GolfNow as a manager of Business Marketing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations in 2012.
On August 1, 2017, ESPN announced that Jac Collinsworth was joining ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show as a features reporter. While at Notre Dame, Jac created the ND Live digital series and covered Notre Dame football for other outlets. After covering Notre Dame for NBC, he also worked on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
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Holly Collinsworth, Cris’ Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know