It’s “goodbye, friends,” for Jim Nantz.
After more than 3½ decades of broadcasting the NCAA Tournament, first as a host in 1986 before assuming the lead play-by-play chair five years later, the iconic CBS broadcaster is about to take his final run on the showcase event that concludes with the title game on April 3 in Houston.
He isn’t retiring from broadcasting — he’ll continue as the network’s lead NFL and golf announcer. But Nantz, 63, said he is dropping basketball because he wants to spend more time with his family, which includes two children under age 10 and an adult daughter from a previous marriage.