Greg Gumbel on NCAA Tournament coverage in 2021. (Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports.)
By Matt Yoder on

The 2025 NCAA Tournament Selection Show represented the first since Greg Gumbel’s passing in December. And it was only right that the CBS Sports team paid tribute to their longtime host on Sunday before revealing the bracket.

Gumbel passed at the age of 78 with an unrivaled resume as a host and play-by-play man. Among the duties he held were calling Super Bowls, anchoring The NFL Today, the Olympics, and so many events in between.

But sports fans will most likely always know him as the man and the voice that revealed the NCAA Tournament bracket every year on the Sunday before March Madness. So to open the 2025 edition, CBS Sports aired a tribute to Greg Gumbel to open the show and each member of the cast (who were all wearing Rolling Stones shirts in honor of his favorite band) took turns paying their own respects.

“Greg loved this time of year, he loved this day. And it is an honor to sit in his seat again,” Adam Zucker said, welcoming viewers to the 2025 Selection Sunday show.

“Forever changed in a positive and significant way because he was my colleague and friend sitting in that seat for over two decades. And he did it with great class, great composure, great humor, and great humility. Forever remembered, and I’m so much better for having spent time in his orbit as a friend and colleague,” longtime partner Clark Kellogg said.

“As a coach and player, his voice is the voice of accomplishment. When you hear his voice, you know you’ve done something because you’re watching the Selection Show. And then in my first year in TV I got to have him as a mentor. Great man, we really miss him dearly, as will this tournament.” Jay Wright added.

“One of the many things that made Greg great is he never wanted this to be about him. So start us up,” Seth Davis concluded.

It was a beautiful tribute to Greg Gumbel from each member of the cast. And he will always be remembered fondly by college basketball fans.

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