List of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four broadcasters
Television
Notes
1960s
- In 1962, ABC showed the NCAA Championship Game on a one-day delayed basis, as part of Wide World of Sports.
- From 1969 to 1972, both the Consolation (3rd place) Game and the Championship Game were televised on Saturday afternoon as a doubleheader. In 1969 and 1970, Curt Gowdy and Jim Simpson reversed roles for the telecast; Gowdy called the title game and Simpson earlier called the “consy.” In 1973, the final was moved to Monday night,[7] and the consy was no longer televised. In 1982, the consy game was dropped altogether.
- Prior to 1969, the NCAA Championship was never on live network television. However, the one-time rival NIT tourney had been on CBS for many years in the 1960s and well into the 1970s. Before the NCAA allowed conferences to receive multiple bids in 1975, the NIT fielded some high-quality tournaments.
1970s
- In 1976, Dick Enberg and Billy Packer called the first game while Packer teamed with Curt Gowdy for the second game. For the Championship Game, Dick Enberg and Curt Gowdy called it while NBC used Billy Packer as a studio analyst.
- The 1979 championship game between Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores and Magic Johnson's Michigan State Spartans to this day, remains the highest-rated[8] game in the history of televised college basketball.
1980s
- 1982 marked the first year that the Selection Show was broadcast.
- 1987 marked the first year that CBS used the song "One Shining Moment" for its tournament epilogue.
- In 1989, Lesley Visser became the first woman to cover the Final Four.
1990s
- The 1990 Championship Game marked Brent Musburger's final assignment for CBS Sports as he was dismissed (under great controversy) just a day earlier (April 1).
- CBS did not use a sideline reporter for the 1994 Championship Game.
2000s
- In 2008, CBS' studio team did not travel to the Final Four site. Instead, Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis remained at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
- Clark Kellogg replaced Billy Packer as CBS' lead basketball color commentator for the 2008–2009 college basketball season and called the 2009 NCAA Final Four.[9]
2010s
- Despite CBS' contract to carry the tournament until 2013, the NCAA had the option of ending the agreement after the 2010 championship. This led to speculation that ESPN would snag the rights to future tournament games.[10] However, on April 22, 2010, the NCAA signed a 14-year agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting System worth more than $10.8 billion, allowing CBS to continue airing the entire regional finals through the national championship, with CBS and Turner splitting coverage of earlier rounds in the now 68-team field. After 2015, the regional finals will be shared and the Final Four and National Championship alternating between CBS and TBS.[11]
- † Expected announcer, subject to change.
See also
Radio
National
Local
| Date | Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Duke | WDNC (Duke) | ||
| Illinois | WDWS (Illinois) | |||
| Michigan | WJR–AM (Michigan) | |||
| Seton Hall | WPAT–AM (Seton Hall) |
See also
References
- ^ SNI endeared itself forever to basketball fans when it covered the NCAA final from Louisville in 1963, the year Loyola of Chicago rallied in the second half to upset presumably invincible Cincinnati. This telecast came up with an upset of its own. It went on against Have Gun, Will Travel and Gunsmoke and beat them both in the ratings.
- ^ Mar 20, 1963 - nament for the national basketball championship Saturday night will be telecast nationally for the first time since 1954. A spokesman for the said Sports Network Inc an independent company which bought package telecast rights for the 1963 tournament expects up to 140 television ...
- ^ "TV coverage history of the NCAA Tournament (1969-present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1969-1981)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1982-1990)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1991-2011)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "The first NBC prime time NCAA basketball title game". Classic Sports TV and Media. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Sports Media Watch: National Championship numbers game.
- ^ The Associated Press: Packer out, Kellogg in as CBS lead hoops announcer[dead link]
- ^ ESPN to snag the Final Four? Don Surber, Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)
- ^ NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Expands To 68 Teams; CBS Adds Turner To Television Team (press release via TV by the Numbers)
- ^ http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=127873&pt=archive
- ^ http://westwoodone.com/site/pressrelease?pid=22342
- ^ http://images.westwoodone.com/images/pdf/2007%20NCAA%20Announcers.pdf