"Hello Friends," the iconic greeting from Jim Nantz, has welcomed millions of viewers to America's most prestigious sporting events, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, the Super Bowl and the Masters Tournament.
Now, as he prepares to work his last Final Four as a broadcaster, Nantz will receive the NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award, which honors individuals who have provided significant leadership as advocates for intercollegiate athletics on a continuous basis over the course of their careers. It is just the latest honor in his illustrious, Hall of Fame broadcasting career.
"I got the fortunate break to be able to do what I wanted to do as a young boy, and it's better than I even could have dreamed or imagined," Nantz said.
"It's like somebody's paying you for being able to do exactly what you want to do with your life. In a weird way, I don't quite understand how fortunate I actually am. I don't understand how I deserve something like this. I just have been doing something that was deep in my heart for a long time for most of my life."
Nantz's first national broadcast role was as a host for a college football studio show in 1985. Almost 40 years later, Nantz has called a record 31 national championship basketball games, 93 Final Four games and nearly 400 total tournament games.
A former golf student-athlete at Houston and proud alum and supporter, Nantz said his experience as a Cougar set him on a course to live a lifelong dream.
Legendary Houston golf coach Dave Williams, who led the Cougars to 16 NCAA titles in 36 years, gave Nantz a chance as a walk-on and helped support his broadcasting dreams by introducing him to others in the athletics department. His college roommates and future pro golfers Fred Couples, Blaine McCallister and John Horne all had grand dreams and supported one another during that formative time of their lives.
"It's been one of the great thrills of my life to be able to say that I'm a Houston Cougar, and Houston gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream," said Nantz, who was awarded with a lifetime achievement award from the school in 2021. "I got to do it with a group of guys who are my best friends to this day, who also got to live out their dreams."
Receiving an award for his service to college athletics when it's something that has given him so much is a full-circle moment for Nantz.
"At the very beginning, it was college athletics that opened the window for me to be able to set sail on a life that I could only dream of since I was a little boy," Nantz said. "My heart is absolutely filled to the brim with gratitude."
Nantz had the opportunity to meet the 38th president at the Jerry Ford Invitational golf tournament in Vail, Colorado. Paired with singer John Denver and golfer Gary McCord, Nantz was caught off guard when Fordcame across the trio on the 11th hole and invited them to dinner.
For the rest of the back nine, Nantz couldn't shake that he was going to dine with the former president. At dinner, Nantz felt even more disbelief when he sat next to entertainer Bob Hope.
"Pretty big company for a kid out of the University of Houston," he said. "Little could I have ever imagined or known at that time that … I was sitting across from a man whose name is on award that I would receive."
Nantz's genuine, friendly and polished broadcasting style has earned him a spot in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He also has been honored with awards from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nantz expresses gratitude and disbelief when examining his longevity calling NCAA tournament games. His first assignment was in 1986, and he took over lead play-by-play duties for CBS in 1991. Recognizing the significance and stakes of the event, Nantz feels a responsibility to represent student-athletes the right way, knowing he's the soundtrack for some of their greatest achievements or toughest heartbreaks.
Nantz's favorite moments include Villanova's Kris Jenkins hitting a game-winning 3-pointer in 2016's national championship in Houston and having a front row seat to Butler's Gordon Hayward getting off an oh-so-close, half-court shot at the buzzer in the 2010 national championship in Indianapolis.
"It would have been the greatest finish, not only in the history of the NCAA, but I think maybe the greatest finish in any sport. All time. It would have been college basketball's version of a Hail Mary," he said of Hayward's shot.
As it happens, the 2023 Men's Final Four, which will be Nantz's final tournament on the call, will be in Houston.
Nantz, 63, has three children, two in elementary school, and looks forward to a future of watching the tournament with his family and, if requested, jumping out of the stands to host the trophy presentation.
In the meantime, Nantz continues to build his legacy, dually honoring his late parents and supporting his alma mater with the Doris Nantz Press Box at TDECU Stadium and establishing the Houston Methodist Nantz National Alzheimer Center, which supports research and treatment into the disease that claimed his father, Jim Nantz Jr.
"Still to this day, I try to just make my parents proud. That's what drives me," he said. "They're both gone now. I lost my dad back in 2008, and I lost my mom in the fall, so it's still very fresh. I've always led that way. I've been led that way to try to make my parents proud."
