Jim Nantz


James William Nantz III is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League, NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has anchored CBS's coverage of the Masters Tournament since 1989 and been the lead play-by-play announcer on CBS's NFL coverage since 2004. He was also the lead broadcaster for the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 1990 to 2023.

Early life and education

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nantz grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, Colts Neck Township, New Jersey, and Marlboro Township, New Jersey, where he attended Marlboro High School. In high school, he was co-captain of the basketball team and co-captain and number one player on the golf team. He was a member of Bamm Hollow Country Club.
Nantz then matriculated at the University of Houston where he played on the Cougars men's golf team, rooming with future professional golfers Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Broadcasting in 1981. It was during this time that Nantz got his first experience in sports broadcasting with the CBS Radio Network, transmitting taped interviews to Win Elliot for the latter's Sports Central USA weekend reports.

Broadcasting career

Before CBS Sports

Nantz started as an anchor and sportscaster for KHOU in Houston, Texas in the early 1980s and then became a weekend sports anchor on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City where he called BYU football games and Utah Jazz games along with Hot Rod Hundley.

At CBS Sports

Nantz joined CBS Sports in 1985, initially working as a studio host for CBS's college football and basketball coverage, and as an on-course reporter for PGA Tour golf, as well as calling NFL games on Westwood One. In 1989, he moved from the college football studio show to play-by-play for two seasons, calling a full season of games including the Army-Navy game and the Cotton Bowl, with analysts Pat Haden and Tim Brant.
Nantz has anchored CBS' coverage of the Masters Tournament since 1989. Following Brent Musburger's ouster from CBS in 1990, Nantz moved into the lead play-by-play role on the NCAA Final Four men's basketball finals, working with Billy Packer, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr, and Greg Anthony. Nantz's most recent partners on March Madness coverage were Bill Raftery and Grant Hill. In October 2022, Nantz announced his intention to step away from basketball coverage to spend time with family and will be replaced by Ian Eagle.
Nantz opens each of his broadcasts by saying, "Hello, friends". The greeting came about as a way for Nantz to identify himself to his father, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Nantz's broadcast style includes a penchant for informing listeners of historical facts or statistics regarding athletes or situations as a competition progresses.

''The NFL on CBS'' (1987–1992)

On October 4, 1987, Nantz made his first on-air appearance during an NFL game when he served as a reporter during the Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets game during the NFL strike in a game which featured replacement players, he appeared outside the stadium and in the crowd interviewing fans, in a time before sideline reporters were commonplace at regular season games. It would be his only appearance on CBS's NFL coverage during the 1987 season. In 1988, Nantz would work his first NFL play-by-play assignments, covering the October 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts game and the December 4 Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns game. In 1989, Nantz would call three more NFL games, and in 1990 he would call two games with analyst Tim Brant. Nantz would work a full schedule of NFL games on play-by-play for the first time in 1991, calling games with analyst Hank Stram and would then work again with Stram during the 1992 season, also paring with Dan Fouts for two games in September 1992.
On October 4, 1992, he paired with analyst Randy Cross when Cross' regular broadcast partner, Dick Stockton, was covering MLB baseball. For the 1993 season, Nantz would join Cross full-time, and they would be assigned to the January 16, 1994 NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.

College Football (1994–1997)

CBS would lose the NFL contract after the 1993 season, and Nantz would return to college football and call three games during the next two seasons, the 1994 Sun Bowl, and during the 1995 season, both the Sun Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl, with analyst Terry Donahue. He would work with Donahue again for a full season of play-by-play in 1996, while in 1997 he would return to hosting the College Football studio show.

The NFL returns to CBS (1998–present)

After hosting CBS's pre-game program The NFL Today from 1998 to 2003, he became The NFL on CBS top play-by-play announcer in 2004. That move sent Greg Gumbel to the studio, and Nantz to the stadium booth with Phil Simms.
On February 4, 2007, Nantz called the play-by-play of Super Bowl XLI. He joins Curt Gowdy, Kevin Harlan, and Dick Enberg as the only play-by-play announcers to ever call both a Super Bowl and an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game. Nantz is also one of two men to host a Super Bowl, announce an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game, and host coverage of The Masters from Butler Cabin with Brent Musburger being the other. Musburger also accomplished all three feats with CBS. During Super Bowl XLVII, Joe Flacco unknowingly hit Nantz with the Vince Lombardi Trophy during the presentation, but Nantz simply brushed it off.
In 2014, Nantz and broadcast partner Phil Simms called Thursday Night Football games in a deal with CBS and the NFL Network. Tracy Wolfson was the sideline reporter for the Thursday games along with the Sunday games on CBS.
In 2017, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo replaced Phil Simms as Nantz's color commentator for CBS' NFL telecasts.
Nantz and Romo called Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Super Bowl LV in 2021, and Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
On January 3, 2021, Nantz worked with Boomer Esiason, who filled in for Romo, for a Week 17 game featuring the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams. On January 9, 2022, Tom McCarthy filled in for Nantz for a Week 18 game featuring the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both Romo in 2021 and Nantz in 2022 had to sit out of the final week of the regular season due to COVID-19 protocols, and Romo also had to work the 2020 Wild Card game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints remotely for the same reason.

Media appearances

Nantz has appeared on episodes of The Price Is Right to present a Showcase prize that involves CBS Sports properties, one to attend the 2009 Final Four in Detroit and another in 2010 for Super Bowl XLIV, as part of changes to the long-time game show to use product placement models and CBS crossovers, including sports packages. Nantz appeared as himself in the 1996 film Tin Cup and has appeared in episodes of several television series including Arliss, Yes, Dear, Criminal Minds, and How I Met Your Mother. He portrayed the announcer for the fictional baseball team in the short-lived series Clubhouse, and his voice can be heard in the 1998 film Scrapple. He also appeared in Fantasy Football, a film produced by CBS' sister network Nickelodeon.
Since 2009, Nantz has guest commentated on the final round of The Open Championship for the BBC, and in 2019, when Fox was broadcasting the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Nantz made a guest appearance with fellow broadcaster Joe Buck and called a couple of shots, becoming the only person to commentate at all four of golf's majors.
Nantz teamed with Gary McCord to provide extensive commentary in the 1999 PC golf game Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge, and his commentary is featured in the Golden Tee Golf arcade game series. From 2012 until 2016, Nantz, along with Phil Simms, provided commentary for the Madden NFL series. In 2013, Nantz appeared in a Papa John's Pizza ad with Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, and founder John Schnatter. He has also been part of Capital One's March Madness ad campaign featuring Charles Barkley, Samuel L. Jackson, and Spike Lee.
File:Rick Pitino being interviewed by Jim Nantz.jpeg|alt=Jim Nantz holding microphone next to Rick Pitino|thumb|Nantz interviewing Rick Pitino following the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game.

Career timeline

1980s