List of NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four broadcasters

Since 2010, the NCAA has had a joint contract with CBS and Turner Broadcasting. The coverage of the tournament is split between CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV.[1]

Broadcasters from CBS, TBS, and TNT's sports coverage are shared across all four networks, with CBS' college basketball teams supplemented with Turner's NBA teams, while studio segments take place at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and Turner's studios in Atlanta. In the New York-based studio shows, CBS' Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg are joined by Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley of TNT's Inside the NBA while Seth Davis of CBS assists with Casey Stern and various NBA TV personalities. While two of Turner's NBA voices, Kevin Harlan and Ian Eagle, are already employed by CBS in other capacities, they also lend analysts Reggie Miller, Chris Webber, Grant Hill, and Steve Smith and secondary play-by-play man Brian Anderson to CBS. In turn, CBS announcers Jim Nantz, Brad Nessler, Spero Dedes, Andrew Catalon, and Carter Blackburn appear on Turner network broadcasts along with analysts Jim Spanarkel, Bill Raftery, and Dan Bonner.

The current contract runs through 2024 and, for the first time in history, provides for the nationwide broadcast each year of all games of the tournament. All First Four games air on truTV. A featured first- or second-round game in each time "window" is broadcast on CBS, while all other games are shown either on TBS, TNT or truTV. The regional semifinals, better known as the Sweet Sixteen, are split between CBS and TBS. CBS had the exclusive rights to the regional finals, also known as the Elite Eight, through 2014. That exclusivity extended to the entire Final Four as well, but after the 2013 tournament Turner Sports elected to exercise a contractual option for 2014 and 2015 giving TBS broadcast rights to the national semifinal matchups.[2] CBS kept its national championship game rights.[2]

Since 2015, CBS and TBS split coverage of the Elite Eight. Since 2016, CBS and TBS alternate coverage of the Final Four and national championship game, with TBS getting the final two rounds in even-numbered years, and CBS getting the games in odd-numbered years. March Madness On Demand would remain unchanged, although Turner was allowed to develop their own service.[3]

Television

Date Network Location Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation
1963 SNI[4][5] Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky) Bill Flemming
1964 Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri) Keith Jackson
1965 Memorial Coliseum (Portland, Oregon)
1966 Cole Field House (College Park, Maryland) Frank Sims
1967 Freedom Hall (Louisville)
1968 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles)
1969[6][7] NBC Freedom Hall (Louisville) Curt Gowdy Jim Simpson
1970 Cole Field House (College Park, Maryland)
1971 Astrodome (Houston) Tom Hawkins
1972 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles)
1973 St. Louis Arena (St. Louis) Jim Simpson
1974 Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)
1975 San Diego Sports Arena (San Diego) Billy Packer Jim Simpson Tim Ryan Al McGuire
1976 Spectrum (Philadelphia) Dick Enberg Curt Gowdy John Wooden Bryant Gumbel and Lee Leonard Billy Packer Walter Byers
1977 The Omni (Atlanta) Curt Gowdy and Dick Enberg Billy Packer Bryant Gumbel
1978 St. Louis Arena (St. Louis) Dick Enberg (Kentucky vs Arkansas and Duke vs Kentucky) and Curt Gowdy (Duke vs Notre Dame) Billy Packer and Al McGuire
1979 Jon M. Huntsman Center (Salt Lake City) Dick Enberg John Wooden
1980 Market Square Arena (Indianapolis)
1981 Spectrum (Philadelphia) Walter Byers
1982[8] CBS Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) Gary Bender Billy Packer Brent Musburger
1983 University Arena (Albuquerque)
1984 Kingdome (Seattle)
1985 Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky) Brent Musburger Dick Stockton
1986 Reunion Arena (Dallas) Jim Nantz
1987 Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) James Brown
1988 Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri)
1989 Kingdome (Seattle) Lesley Visser and James Brown Jim Nantz and James Brown
1990 McNichols Sports Arena (Denver) Lesley Visser Jim Nantz Mike Francesa
1991[9] Hoosier Dome (Indianapolis) Jim Nantz Lesley Visser and James Brown Pat O'Brien Dick Schultz
1992 Metrodome (Minneapolis)
1993 Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) Lesley Visser and Jim Gray Mike Krzyzewski (Semifinals only) and John Thompson Tom Butters
1994 Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) Jim Gray Rick Pitino (Semifinals only) and Dean Smith
1995 Kingdome (Seattle) Michele Tafoya Mike Krzyzewski and Quinn Buckner Cedric Dempsey
1996 Continental Airlines Arena (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Michele Tafoya and Andrea Joyce Quinn Buckner and Jim Harrick
1997 RCA Dome (Indianapolis) Clark Kellogg and Mike Krzyzewski
1998 Alamodome (San Antonio) Michele Tafoya and Armen Keteyian Greg Gumbel Clark Kellogg and Dean Smith C. M. Newton
1999 Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Florida) Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian Clark Kellogg and Rick Majerus Cedric Dempsey
2000 RCA Dome (Indianapolis) Clark Kellogg and Bill Walton
2001 Metrodome (Minneapolis) Clark Kellogg and Rick Pitino
2002 Georgia Dome (Atlanta) Clark Kellogg
2003 Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) Clark Kellogg and Tom Izzo Myles Brand
2004 Alamodome (San Antonio) Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis
2005 Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis)
2006 RCA Dome (Indianapolis) Dan Bonner Craig Littlepage and Myles Brand
2007 Georgia Dome (Atlanta) Sam Ryan Gary Walters and Myles Brand
2008 Alamodome (San Antonio) Tom O'Connor and Myles Brand
2009 Ford Field (Detroit) Clark Kellogg Tracy Wolfson Michael Slive and Jim Nantz
2010 Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) Dan Guerrero and Jim Nantz
2011 Reliant Stadium (Houston) Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr Greg Anthony, Seth Davis, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley Mark Emmert, Gene Smith and Jim Nantz
2012 Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) Mark Emmert and Jim Nantz
2013 Georgia Dome (Atlanta) Greg Anthony, Doug Gottlieb, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley
2014 CBS (championship game)
TBS, TNT, TruTV (national semifinals)
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Greg Anthony and Steve Kerr Ernie Johnson and Greg Gumbel Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Grant Hill and Reggie Miller
2015 Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) Bill Raftery and Grant Hill
2016 TBS NRG Stadium (Houston) Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Steve Smith and Reggie Miller
2017 CBS University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Steve Smith and Jay Wright
2018 TBS Alamodome (San Antonio) Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Brendan Haywood and Candace Parker
2019 CBS U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis) Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Candace Parker, Wally Szczerbiak, Jay Wright and Gene Steratore
2020 Not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic

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,[10] 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

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

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.[14] 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.[15]

2020s

  •    Expected announcer, subject to change.

See also

Radio

National

Date Network Location Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s)
1979[16] NBC Radio Special Events Center (Salt Lake City) Cawood Ledford Bobby Knight Jack O’Rourke
1982 CBS Radio Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans) Curt Gowdy
1983 University Arena (Albuquerque) Jim Kelly
1984 Kingdome (Seattle) Dick Stockton (semifinal and championship) John Rooney (semifinal) Dave Gavitt and Curt Gowdy
1985 Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky) Cawood Ledford (Semifinal and Championship) and John Rooney (Semifinal)
1989 Kingdome (Seattle) Quinn Buckner Ron Franklin
1990 McNichols Sports Arena (Denver, Colorado)
1991 Hoosier Dome (Indianapolis) Ron Franklin (Semifinal)
Quinn Buckner (Semifinal and Championship)
1992 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minneapolis) Quinn Buckner
1993 Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana) John Rooney Bill Raftery
1995 Kingdome (Seattle) John Rooney (UCLA-Oklahoma State and Championship Game)
Marty Brennaman (Arkansas-North Carolina)
Bill Raftery (UCLA-Oklahoma State and Championship Game)
Ron Franklin (Arkansas-North Carolina)
1997 RCA Dome (Indianapolis) John Rooney (Semifinal and Championship)
Marty Brennaman (Semifinal)
Bill Raftery (Semifinal and Championship)
Ron Franklin (Semifinal)
1999 Westwood One Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Florida) John Rooney (Duke-Michigan State and Connecticut-Duke)
Marty Brennaman (Connecticut-Ohio State)
Bill Raftery (Duke-Michigan State and Connecticut-Duke)
Ron Franklin (Connecticut-Ohio State)
Ron Franklin
2002 Georgia Dome (Atlanta) John Rooney (Semifinal and Championship)
Marty Brennaman (Semifinal)
Bill Raftery (Semifinal and Championship)
Ron Franklin (Semifinal)
Jim Gray Dave Sims
2003 Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana) Kevin Harlan John Thompson and Bill Raftery Jim Gray
2004 Alamodome (San Antonio)
2005[17] Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis, Missouri) John Tautges
2006[18] RCA Dome (Indianapolis)
2007[19] Georgia Dome (Atlanta) Tommy Tighe
2008 Alamodome (San Antonio) Kevin Kugler
2009 Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan)
2010 Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) John Tautges Bill Walton
2011 Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas)
2012 Dial Global Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans)
2013 Georgia Dome (Atlanta)
2014 Westwood One AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Jason Horowitz
2015 Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana) Clark Kellogg
2016 NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas) John Thompson and Clark Kellogg
2017 University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) Clark Kellogg
2018 Alamodome (San Antonio) John Thompson and Clark Kellogg
2019 U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis)
2020 Not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic

See also

References

  1. "CBS Sports, Turner Broadcasting, NCAA Reach 14-Year Agreement" (Press release). National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 22, 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  2. DeCourcy, Mike (May 7, 2013). "Putting Final Four games on cable saved college hoops from 96-team mess". Sporting News. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  3. "CBS, Turner win TV rights to tourney". ESPN. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  4. 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. Archived October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 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 ...
  6. "TV coverage history of the NCAA Tournament (1969–present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  7. "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1969–1981)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  8. "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1982–1990)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. "Chronology of NCAA Tournament TV coverage (1991–2011)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  10. "The first NBC prime time NCAA basketball title game". Classic Sports TV and Media. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  11. Sports Media Watch: National Championship numbers game.
  12. "Magic vs. Bird – the 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship". NBC Sports History Page.
  13. The Associated Press: Packer out, Kellogg in as CBS lead hoops announcer
  14. ESPN to snag the Final Four? Don Surber, Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)
  15. NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Expands To 68 Teams; CBS Adds Turner To Television Team (press release via TV by the Numbers) Archived 2010-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Great Games in NCAA Tournament History by Westwood One: 1979 National Championship". Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2009-02-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2009-02-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. http://images.westwoodone.com/images/pdf/2007%20NCAA%20Announcers.pdf%5B%5D
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