The excitement of upsets, the frustration of busted brackets and the voices that call the games are all mainstays of March Madness.
Since CBS Sports and Turner Sports first teamed up in 2010 to jointly broadcast the NCAA men’s tournament, we’ve all become accustomed to hearing the voices of Jim Nantz and Greg Gumbel. Last April, Nantz retired as CBS Sports’ lead college basketball announcer after his 32nd NCAA Tournament.
This week, according to Richard Deitsch, we learned that Greg Gumbel will miss the tournament due to family health reasons.
This means that Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Clark Kellogg and company won’t have Gumbel at the helm of the studio ship.
Last March, Gumbel, 77, signed a contract extension with CBS Sports and celebrated his 25th anniversary of hosting the network’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament studio show. Part of the new deal also meant that he was stepping down from his NFL duties, something he did with the network for 30 years.
Gumbel is a sports media trailblazer and history maker. In 2001, he became the first African American play-by-play announcer to call a Super Bowl, a feat he repeated in 2004.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to watch Gumbel drop knowledge during this year’s tournament. But with Ian Eagle, Ernie Johnson, Adam Zucker and the rest of the team on board, March Madness will be in great hands.
Wishing the best to Greg and his family!
