One Final Shining Moment: Jim Nantz To Call Last NCAA Tournament In 2023

The Jim Nance era of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is coming to an end.

Nantz has been the voice of the tournament for three decades but has announced that 2023 will be his last year broadcasting March Madness.

“It is time with two young children and an older daughter that I spend more time at home,” Nantz told the New York Post. “Daddy needs to be home.”

While Nantz is bowing out of his usual college basketball duties, he will continue to lead CBS' golf coverage and will still be calling NFL games alongside broadcast partner Tony Romo.

Nantz did however mention that there is one moment of the tournament he would still like to be a part of in the years to come: the trophy presentation.

“I would like to sit in the stands for the great majority of the game with my kids,” Nantz said. “And tell them that their dad used to call this game. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me for a few minutes, I’ve got to go down to the floor and give the trophy away’" he said. "That will be a lot of fun.”

Nantz Agrees He Will Have A Worthy Successor

Ian Eagle will take over from Nantz as CBS and Turner SPorts' lead announcer for the NCAA tournament moving forward.

Nantz thinks that with Eagle at the helm, the broadcasts will be in good hands.

“It’s his time,” Nantz said. “I will support him 1,000 %. He doesn’t need my support. But I’m absolutely thrilled for him. He’s a great teammate," Nantz said/

"He’s been right in the middle of this NCAA Tournament for a long, long time. So he’s not dropping in from outside, I mean he’s going to be working an extra weekend. It happens to be the big one. And he is definitely capable and ready and will excel and he’ll take it to all new heights.”

The 2023 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to get underway on with the First Four on March 14 and 15. The championship game will be held at Houston's NRG Stadium on April 3.

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.