Jim Nantz was the familiar voice of the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament for 32 years for CBS. Fans got used to his friendly “hello, friends” greeting and he was a beloved part of the game. But in 2023, he stepped away from March Madness for good.
As he was also calling the NFL and golf for CBS, the 63-year-old said he needed to cut back somewhere to help balance his work and family life. In 2025 though, he’s still been a big part of the tournament as he’s attended the Elite Eight and Final Four and is expected to be at the championship tonight to cheer on the Houston Cougars.
“For the rest of our lives, the University of Houston will be looking back on one weekend in San Antonio – and we’re gonna say remember the Alamodome.” – Jim Nantz
Absolute chills. pic.twitter.com/0zEWGEGAaR
— CoogTV (@UHCoogTV) April 6, 2025
Jim Nantz back in the March Madness spotlight
Ian Eagleto has filled in for Nantz as the lead play-by-play announcer since he left, and is accompanied by Bill Raftery and Grant Hill. Tracy Wolfson is the sideline reporter for the final and Ernie Johnson hosts the pregame and post-game coverage, along with Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg, and Kenny Smith.
But now that Nantz is out of the broadcast booth, he can soak up all the madness from the sidelines, and at the perfect moment. His alma mater, the University of Houston Cougars, have made it to the final.
Ironically, last season was the first time in many years that Nantz didn’t have to take a red-eye to Augusta National Golf Club to get ready to call the Masters just after calling the Final Four. And this year, he’s still going to arrive late thanks to March Madness again, but this time, as a spectator. Nantz will be at the national championship game tonight in San Antonio as the Cougars take on the Florida Gators. He’ll still lead CBS’ coverage of the Masters, but won’t arrive in Augusta until late Monday night or Tuesday morning.
“If we so happen to be fortunate enough to defeat Duke and play Monday night, I will be right back to my old schedule again, and that is to fly out after the game Monday night or at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning for Augusta,” said Nantz ahead of the Final Four. “So here we go all over again.”
And so they did beat Duke, and in a dramatic comeback that Nantz was clearly happy to have witnessed.
When Nantz arrived to the Final Four, his former colleague Charles Barkley couldn’t help but poke a little fun at him, saying, “It ain’t like he got a job. He quit y’all. He got plenty of free time on his hands.” Ernie Johnson reminded him that the Masters are coming up, but Barkley insisted that’s “next week, man” and so Nantz was freed up for the week with nothing else to do.
“It ain’t like he got a job. He quit ya’ll. He got plenty of free time on his hands.” – Charles Barkley on Houston alum Jim Nantz in the house
“It’s Masters week, man!” – Ernie Johnson
“That’s next week.” – Charles Barkley
And it kept going from there. 🏀⛳️🎙️📺😂 pic.twitter.com/JR9bJi7K4v
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2025
While Nantz’s team made it to the championship, Barkley may be feeling a bit bitter, as his Auburn Tigers were the ones to fall to the Florida Gators in their own historic comeback.
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