March Madness is underway. But many fans may have noticed that Jim Nantz isn’t on the call for any of the games during the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Over the course of his career, no broadcaster has been more associated with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Final Four and NCAA Championship Game than Nantz has been. The longtime CBS broadcaster began calling games for “The Big Dance” in 1986 and began calling the Final Four and national championship game in 1991. Over the course of his career, Nantz called 354 NCAA tournament games, an astonishing figure that includes 96 Final Four matchups and 32 title games.
Understandably, many have taken note of this being the first NCAA Tournament since in nearly 40 years without Nantz on the call for any of the games. Here’s why the 64-year-old Nantz is on this year’s NCAA Tournament schedule:
Why isn’t Jim Nantz calling the 2024 NCAA Tournament?
Ahead of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Nantz announced that it would be his final year serving as CBS’ lead voice of March Madness. Nantz said that it was an decision that he and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus came to in 2021, with Nantz telling Andrew Marchand — then with the New York Post — that his desire to spend more time with his family was the driving force behind the move.
“It is time with two young children and an older daughter that I spend more time at home,” Nantz said at the time. “Daddy needs to be home.”
Nantz’s final time calling the Final Four and national championship game for CBS proved poetic, as Houston’s NRG Stadium hosted the event. Nantz is an alum of the University of Houston, and although the Cougars weren’t able to advance to the Final Four, he was honored with a standing ovation at the event.
“I’m committed to absorbing it all and not getting over the top sentimental,” Nantz told Chris “Mad Dog” Russo last year. “I’m not retiring from broadcasting. I hope to be continuing on with it for many years to come with the NFL and with golf. I’m going to be retiring to about a 40-week-a-year schedule on the road….It’s a rich schedule.”
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What is Jim Nantz doing now?
While Nantz is no longer on the NCAA Tournament broadcasting schedule, he remains one of the top play-by-play announcers in all of sports. Alongside Tony Romo, he remained the lead announcer on CBS’ top broadcasting team for the 2023 NFL season, which culminated with Nantz calling his seventh Super Bowl.
Additionally, the North Carolina native remains CBS’s top golf announcer. Next month, he will call his 39th career Masters Tournament, and he has previously stated a desire to keep calling the event through its 100th edition, which will come in 2036. Jim Nantz would be 76 years old for the 100th Masters that year, which is not out of reach considering how long some top announcers continue to work in the industry.
Which broadcaster will call the 2024 Final Four?
With Jim Nantz no longer on the call, Ian Eagle will take over as CBS’ lead broadcaster for the NCAA Tournament, Final Four and national championship game. Joining Eagle on the call for the Final Four and national title game — which will all air on TBS — will be Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson.
But before they get to the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, Eagle will first pick up where Nantz left off, calling the first-round matchup between defending national champion UConn and Stetson on Friday before calling No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Vermont. Both games will air on CBS. Eagle has been a trusted voice calling college basketball, the NFL, and NBA for CBS and TNT Sports for a number of years. Long thought of as a fan favorite, this will be Eagle’s first lead assignment as he steps in for Nantz to call the Final Four in 2024.
On Sunday, Eagle, Rafferty, Hill and Wolfson were on the call for Illinois’ victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. And all indications are that CBS Sports’ new top team is already in March Madness form.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.