CBS Sports Commentator Jim Nantz (R) congratulates Golf legend Jack Nicklaus during his Congressional Gold Medal deremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda March 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Getty)
Jim Nantz is a CBS Sports’ top play-by-play broadcaster and has experience covering a wide scope of sports – he currently covers each sport that CBS has contractual obligation for.
CBS covers the NFL, NCAA Division I men’s basketball (including the NCAA Tournament) and PGA Tour golf (including The Masters). Nantz’s voice and coverage for CBS broadcasts has become synonymous throughout the sports world.
Nantz will be calling Super Bowl 50 along with Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson.
The Denver Broncos will face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS. You can watch Montana flip the coin and the entire game live, for free, online.
Here’s what else you need to know about Nantz:
1. Nantz Comes From a Background in Both Sports (As An Athlete) & Broadcasting
Jim Nantz broadcasting the 2014 National Championship Game between the Connecticut Huskies and Kentucky Wildcats at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Getty)
A younger Nantz was an athlete. He attended Marlboro High School in Marlboro, New Jersey where he was co-captain of both the basketball and golf teams.
He later attended college and graduated from the University of Houston in 1981 with a degree in radio/television. While he attended Houston, Nantz was a public-address announcer for the Houston Astros and Houston Cougars and later the voice of Brigham Young football while working as a local sportscaster in Salt Lake City.
2. Nantz Has Become the Defacto ‘Voice’ of CBS Sports
Jim Nantz speaks with David Stern during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 2014 Class Announcement. (Getty)
Nantz officially joined CBS in 1985 as a studio host for college football. He has also covered golf at CBS since 1986, began anchoring coverage of The Masters in 1989 and has been CBS’ golf anchor since 1994.
In addition to both college football and golf, he later became the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS’ coverage of NCAA Division I Men’s College Basketball, and he has been calling the college game since 1990, which obviously includes CBS’ yearly coverage of the NCAA Tournament.
Nantz and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms also are CBS’ lead commentary team for CBS’ NFL coverage. CBS will broadcast Super Bowl L in 2016 – Nantz’s fifth Super Bowl.
Nantz was the first commentator to complete the rare broadcasting feat of calling the Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball championship, and the Masters golf tournament in a span of 63 days in 2007; he later repeated the feat in 2010.
3. Nantz Is an Award-Winning Sports Broadcaster
Jim Nantz with Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari. (Getty)
Nantz has won many awards over the past two decades for his broadcasting diversity and work. A list of the Awards that he has won include:
National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (1998, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009)
Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play (2008 and 2009)
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2011)
Honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Houston (2001)
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award (2002)
Curt Gowdy Award – awarded to members of the electronic and print media for outstanding contributions to basketball – in 2002; he is the youngest recipient of the award.
4. Nantz Has Been Married Twice & Has 2 Daughters
CBS Sports announcers Jim Nantz (L) and Phil Simms speak with the media at a CBS Super Bowl XLVII Broadcasters Press Conference. (Getty)
Nantz and his ex-wife Lorrie lived in Westport, Connecticut for 26 years before divorcing in 2009. Together they had one daughter, Caroline. The divorce was controversial and eventually the alimony settlement was disclosed to the media.
In June 2012, Nantz married his second wife Courtney in Pebble Beach, California. Together, the couple has one daughter, Finley.
5. Nantz & Famous Producer Peter Deutsch Own Their Own Wine Label
Jim Nantz interviews Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis shortly after the Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl XLVII.
Deutcsch and Nantz one day sat together in a restaurant and had the idea to start their own Wine Label, which they named: “The Calling.” Together, their reasoning for starting the Wine Label is awesome. (Hint: They just wanted to get into the Wine Industry and make history by creating one of the best and most renown in the nation.)
Nantz opened the Nantz National Alzheimer Center (NNAC) with The Methodist Hospital in Houston. The NNAC is a cutting-edge, world-renowned research and treatment center that hopes to one day find a cure.
