Jim Nantz is back at the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament.
However, this time around, the legendary voice of March Madness does so in a different role: a fan.
The former voice of the Final Four is expected to be in attendance once again to watch Houston, L.J. Cryer and Kelvin Sampson take on Duke, Cooper Flagg and Jon Scheyer in the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know on why Nantz is back at the Final Four:
Is Jim Nantz a Houston basketball fan?
Yes, a very big one indeed. Nantz’s fandom for the Cougars has to do with the fact that he graduated from the University of Houston in 1981.
‘I am absolutely in love with this team. Kelvin Sampson, the head coach, he’s just incredible. I will be there in the stands wearing red and cheering us on against the mighty Duke Blue Devils come Saturday evening.’
Nantz, who called the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament for 32 years for CBS, was in the stands for the Cougars’ Elite Eight win over No. 2 seed Tennessee at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, March 30. He was even in Houston’s photo on the court after the game at a request by Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson.
‘I hope when we get into (Final Four) week, people look at this (Houston) team as a throwback to what college basketball used to be,’ Nantz told KHOU 11 News Houston’s Jason Bristol after Houston’s Elite Eight win.
Where did Jim Nantz go to college?
Nantz attended the University of Houston, where he earned an undergraduate degree in radio/television in 1981. He was recruited to attend the University of Houston as a member of the Cougars golf team.
‘My career traces back to college and a group of supporters who loved on me, believed in me and gave me opportunity,’ Nantz told NCAA.com in 2023. ‘And it was really channeled through college basketball, through the Houston basketball program.’
Nantz told ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ that while he was at Houston, he got introduced to the Cougars’ then-head coach, Guy Lewis, through his golf coach, Dave Williams, and that led to his first big break as a broadcaster: hosting Lewis’ weekly radio show.
‘My whole career really was channeled being on the golf team and the golf coach introducing me to Guy Lewis, the Hall of Fame coach for Houston, who said, ‘Young man I’d like you to be our public address announcer at our home basketball games,” Nantz said. ‘That turned into me, while still a student, hosting his coaches show on the NBC affiliate. It gave me (credibility) when I was 20 years old.
‘It’s been a long-running affair (between Houston and me). For some reason, they even have a banner now right next to the Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.’
Where is Jim Nantz from?
Despite having quite the fandom and connection to the University of Houston, Nantz has no ties to The Lone Star State other than his alma mater. As noted by The Sporting News, Nantz was born in Charlotte, North Carolina before spending parts of his childhood in New Orleans and Marlboro Township, New Jersey.
Nantz, who became the lead voice for CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament in 1991, called his last Final Four in Houston in 2023 at NRG Stadium, when UConn won the first of two back-to-back national championship titles.