Brad Nessler facts for kids

Brad Nessler, born on June 3, 1956, is a well-known American sportscaster. He is famous for calling exciting college football and basketball games for CBS Sports. He has worked for many major sports networks throughout his career.

Career

Starting Out in Broadcasting

Brad Nessler started his broadcasting journey in the early 1980s. He began by calling basketball games for Georgia Tech. Later, he became the play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Falcons football team. He also worked with the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins. He even called games for the ACC.

Working with CBS Sports (First Time)

In the early 1990s, Brad joined CBS Sports. There, he called games for the NFL, college football, and both men's and women's college basketball.

Time at ESPN and ABC Sports

Brad Nessler's career with ESPN began in 1992. He started by calling college basketball games and some college football matches. In 1997, he also began working for ABC Sports, which expanded his role.

You might have heard Brad's voice in video games! He was a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football series with Kirk Herbstreit. His voice was also in the NCAA March Madness video game series, along with Dick Vitale.

Calling College Football

When Brad started calling college football for ABC in 1997, he was one of their top announcers. He moved up to become the main play-by-play announcer for Saturday afternoon games from 2006 to 2008. In 2009, ESPN announced he would lead their Saturday Primetime college football games.

Brad worked with different co-commentators over the years. He first teamed up with Gary Danielson. Later, he worked with Bob Griese and Paul Maguire. For the Saturday Primetime games, he joined Todd Blackledge and sideline reporter Erin Andrews.

NBA and College Basketball

From 2002 to 2004, Brad Nessler also called NBA games. This included the 2003 NBA Finals.

Starting in 2006, he called SEC basketball games for ESPN. He often worked with Sean Farnham or Dick Vitale. He also covered Saturday afternoon college basketball games for ESPN and previously for ABC.

Monday Night Football

Brad Nessler has called a few Monday Night Football games for ESPN. In 2006, he worked with Ron Jaworski and Dick Vermeil for a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders.

He returned to call Monday Night Football games in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, he teamed with Trent Dilfer and Suzy Kolber for a Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs game. In 2011, Nessler and Dilfer called the Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos game, which featured a very long 63-yard field goal!

Working with NFL Network

In 2011, Brad Nessler was hired by NFL Network. He called their Thursday Night Football games, working with analyst Mike Mayock. He continued this role in 2012 and 2013.

Returning to CBS Sports

On May 31, 2016, CBS Sports announced that Brad Nessler would return to their network. He became the main play-by-play announcer for SEC college football games starting in 2017. This meant he was reunited with Gary Danielson, whom he had worked with before at ESPN and ABC.

Brad's first SEC game back with CBS was a game between Florida and Arkansas in November 2016. He also called the 2016 Sun Bowl that year.

Since 2022, Nessler and Danielson have been joined by Jenny Dell and former NFL referee Gene Steratore for their weekly broadcasts. Brad also calls college basketball games for CBS, often with analyst Bill Raftery. In 2018, he called his first NCAA March Madness game for TBS.

Personal Life

Brad Nessler is a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato. He lives in the Atlanta area with his wife and family.