Jim Nantz is closing one chapter of his broadcasting career right where it began: Houston.
Nantz, the renowned play-by-play voice for CBS who also broadcasts NFL games and the Masters, will call his last men's Final Four on Saturday and Monday in the city. It will bookend a nearly 40-year run broadcasting NCAA men's basketball tournaments in some form, including a record 31 national championship games, 93 Final Four games and nearly 400 total tournament games.
It's been, quite literally, a dream come true.
"My life has come full circle, and yet 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. "So, my heart is absolutely so filled to the brim with gratitude."
While broadcasting the Final Four has blessed Nantz with countless memories, calling his last one in Houston adds a layer that's hard for him not to get emotional talking about. The city, the University of Houston and its athletics programs mean everything to Nantz.
Nantz, who appeared on a recent NCAA Social Series episode, walked on to Houston's golf team in the late 1970s. Legendary Houston golf coach Dave Williams, whose teams won 16 NCAA titles, took an interest in Nantz's dream to one day work for CBS and connected the young communications major with those he knew in the area who could help Nantz, including Guy Lewis. The Houston men's basketball head coach at the time, Lewis needed a host for his TV show that was broadcast on the local NBC affiliate. After an introduction from his golf coach, Nantz got the job, which he now calls the "gateway into my career."
Nantz, a walk-on golfer at Houston, got his start in broadcasting thanks to a connection made by legendary golf coach Dave Williams. One of Nantz's first broadcasting jobs was serving as the host of a local TV show featuring Houston men's basketball coach Guy Lewis.
"My career traces back to college and a group of supporters who loved on me, believed in me and gave me opportunity," the Hall of Fame broadcaster and 2023 NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award recipient said. "And it was really channeled through college basketball, through the Houston basketball program."
That support has shaped Nantz's approach to calling NCAA tournament games. For him, it's about the people and their stories first.
"Really, my favorite moments of covering college basketball have been about things that happen away from the game, the chance to get to know the coaches and the players," Nantz said. "I just love getting to know people and to try to find out what makes them unique. What is their story? What is it that makes them special?
"I want to shine a light on them. I want to be a voice that champions people because people championed me. When I was a college student, when I was a student-athlete, I had people believe in me."
Two of those people were his roommates and teammates: Blaine McCallister and Fred Couples, both future PGA Tour players. While McCallister and Couples came to Houston with aspirations of playing professional golf, Nantz's sights were set on CBS. The three fed off one another's goals, Nantz said, providing an unmatched environment of support.
In one example of this, Nantz and Couples used to rehearse a dream while at Houston. In their dorm room, the two would act out a scenario where Couples won the Masters Tournament with Nantz on the call. In 1992, that teenage fantasy became a reality for both.
"We were a band of believers. We didn't slight anyone when it came to discussing openly what our goals were in life," Nantz said. "My roommates made me feel like that (working for CBS) was going to happen. They made it feel completely attainable and plausible to think that way, and I fed off of that. They wanted to play on the PGA Tour. I was there reinforcing that. We believed in each other, and we emboldened one another.
"One of the great thrills of my life is to be able to say that I'm a Houston Cougar. Houston gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream, and I got to do it with a group of guys who are best friends to this day, who also got to live out their dreams."
The three roommates have since started a foundation, The Three Amigos, that endowed a scholarship for the men's basketball and golf programs. Nantz said it's a small way to ensure others experience the same type of opportunities the three amigos did as college athletes.
"Being a student, an athlete, it changed my life," Nantz said. "It's as simple as that. I would not have had this opportunity otherwise."
Nantz takes in one of the many celebratory scenes he's experienced as a broadcaster for CBS.
