American former football player and broadcaster Cris Collinsworth married his wife, Holly Bankemper, in 1989 after reportedly dating in college in the eighties.
Cris and Holly attended different colleges in the seventies while pursuing their undergraduate degrees.
However, their shared love for American football brought them closer and, eventually, united them for life.
Born to his parents, Abraham and Donetta, in Dayton, Ohio, Cris learned football from his dad at a young age.
His dad, whom everyone called Abe, was one of the most prolific scorers in Kentucky High School and played collegiate football for Kentucky Wildcats.
However, Abe gave up his sports career after graduation and began working as an educator.
Nevertheless, he never stopped coaching the game to high school kids, and his son, Cris, inherited his skills.
Collinsworth later played football for the Florida Gators, alongside studying Law. After graduating, he played in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals for eight seasons until his retirement in 1988.
Cris Collinsworth Wife, Holly Bankemper
Cris Collinsworth and his wife, Holly, met pretty late, but the couple feels lucky to have each other in their lives.
The two married in 1989, still have amazing chemistry, and have been inseparable for over three decades.
Holly and Cris’s families were from Kentucky, United States. However, Cris never knew about Holly before they met at the University of Cincinnati in the late eighties for their post-graduate degree in Law.
At that time, Cris had already announced his retirement from his professional football career after playing for the Bengals in the NFL. So, he was already a well-known figure in college.
Their romance started when their mutual friends arranged a date for them at a nightclub owned by Cris in Cincinnati.
Holly finished her studies in 1988 and began working as a law practitioner in Cincinnati, while Cris continued his studies at the University.
Cris eventually proposed to Holly for marriage while attending the MLB All-Star game in 1988. A year later, on June 3, they married.
Cris And Holly Have Four Kids Together
Cris Collinsworth and his wife, Holly, have four kids from their marriage.
After marrying, the two stayed for some years in Cincinnati, and following Cris’s graduation, they shifted to Holly’s hometown in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
Holly gave birth to their first daughter, Katie Collinsworth, in 1990. She attended the University of Florida in Gainesville and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations in 2012.
Following graduation, she joined NBC Sports and worked for GolfNow, a subsidiary of NBC Sports. Katie is now married and has two kids.
Likewise, they welcomed their second child, Austin, on December 24, 1991. He attended Highlands HS and later attended the University of Notre Dame, where he played collegiate football.
Cris and Holly’s second daughter, Ashley, was born in 1993 and attended Harvard University.
While pursuing her degree in Psychology at the University, she was also a part of their track and field team.
However, their youngest son, Jac Collinsworth, is the most famous of their kids. Born in 1995, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame and has been associated with NBC Sports since he was a college student.
Jac has been working full-time for NBC Sports since 2020 and is an announcer for USFL, Notre Dame Football, etc., besides co-hosting Football Night in America for NBC.
