Brent Musburger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brent Musburger
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Musburger at Cassell Coliseum in January 2007
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| Born |
Brent Woody Musburger
May 26, 1939 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Arlene Clare Sander
(m. 1963) |
| Children | 2 |
| Family | Todd Musburger (brother) |
Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is a well-known American sportscaster. He is currently the main broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN).
Musburger worked for CBS Sports from 1973 to 1990. He was the first host of their show The NFL Today. He is also famous for creating the phrase "March Madness". He used this term to describe the exciting NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. While at CBS, he covered many major events. These included the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, U.S. Open tennis, The Masters golf, and college football.
In 1990, he joined ESPN and ABC Sports. He continued to cover the NBA Finals. He also hosted Monday Night Football and called games for Saturday Night Football and the SEC Network. His career also included covering the Indianapolis 500 car race. He reported on U.S. Open and British Open golf. He also covered the FIFA World Cup in soccer, horse racing's Belmont Stakes, and the College Football national championship. In January 2017, he left ESPN and ABC after 27 years. He briefly stopped live sports broadcasting. Later, he became the play-by-play voice for the Las Vegas Raiders from 2018 to 2022.
Brent Musburger grew up in Billings, Montana. He is a member of the Montana Broadcaster's Association Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and Career
Musburger was born in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Billings, Montana. His parents were Beryl Ruth (Woody) and Cec Musburger. In the 1950s, he worked as an umpire for minor league baseball. He was also a childhood friend of former Major League pitcher Dave McNally. His brother, Todd Musburger, is a well-known sports agent.
Musburger attended the Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota. He later studied at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
Musburger started his career as a sportswriter for the Chicago American newspaper. In 1968, he wrote a column about Tommie Smith and John Carlos's protest. They made a Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Musburger's column was critical of their actions. He later said his comparison of them to Nazis was "harsh." However, he stood by his view that the Olympic awards stand should not be used for political statements.
Did [Smith and Carlos' action] improve anything? ... Smith and Carlos aside, I object to using the Olympic awards stand to make a political statement.
According to John Carlos, Musburger never apologized for his comments. Carlos later stated that Musburger's comments did not affect him.
In 1968, Musburger began working with CBS. He first worked as a sports anchor for WBBM radio. Later, he moved to WBBM-TV. In the mid-1970s, Musburger moved to Los Angeles. He anchored news and sports for KNXT (now KCBS-TV). He worked with Connie Chung as a co-anchor from 1978 to 1980. After that, he joined CBS Sports full-time.
CBS Sports (1973–1990)
Brent Musburger started doing play-by-play for CBS Sports in late 1973. He began by covering regular season National Football League games. He worked with commentators like Tommy Mason and Bart Starr. Later, Wayne Walker joined him in the booth.
By 1975, Musburger became the host of CBS's NFL studio show, The NFL Today. This role made him very famous. He started covering many different sports for CBS Sports. He worked as a studio host or play-by-play announcer. He covered college football and basketball. He also reported on the National Basketball Association, horse racing, the U.S. Open (tennis) tournament, and The Masters golf tournament. Musburger also called Major League Baseball games for CBS Radio.
The NFL Today
Musburger became well-known because of his work on The NFL Today. During his time, CBS's NFL pregame show was always the top-rated pregame show. A special part of the program was Musburger's opening. He would tease the upcoming games with live pictures from the stadiums. His phrase, "You are looking live at ..." became one of his famous sayings.
Leaving CBS
By the late 1980s, Musburger was CBS's top sportscaster. He was the main host and play-by-play announcer for many big events. These included the NBA Finals, college basketball, college football, the Belmont Stakes, and the College World Series. He also hosted a New Year's Eve countdown for CBS. Musburger is known for being the first broadcaster to use the term March Madness for the annual college basketball tournament.
In early 1990, CBS made big changes in its management. On April 1, 1990, Musburger was fired from CBS. His last job for CBS was the next evening. He called the 1990 NCAA men's basketball final. This game was between Duke and UNLV. After the game, Musburger thanked the audience and CBS Sports. He also thanked the analysts he had worked with, like Billy Packer.
When he was fired, Musburger was supposed to cover CBS's television coverage of Major League Baseball. Jack Buck took his place. Greg Gumbel filled his position at The NFL Today. Jim Nantz became the lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball.
ABC Sports and ESPN (1990–2017)
After leaving CBS, Musburger thought about different job offers. He decided to join ABC. Al Michaels was already ABC's top broadcaster. So, Musburger focused on college football and basketball. ABC later merged with ESPN under Disney. This allowed him to work on ESPN too, especially after 2006. He covered Major League Baseball and NBA games. He also worked on ESPN Radio, golf tournaments, horse racing, the Indianapolis 500, Little League World Series, and soccer games. He even covered some NFL games, including hosting halftime for Monday Night Football. Musburger was also the main studio host for ABC's coverage of the 1998 World Cup and the 2006 World Cup.
Major League Baseball
In 1995, Musburger called Games 3-5 of the American League Division Series. This was between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. He worked with Jim Kaat for ABC. The fifth game was very close. It went into the 11th inning. Then, Edgar Martínez hit a double. This scored Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr.. The Mariners won and went to the League Championship Series for the first time.
No balls and a strike to Martínez. Line drive, we are tied! Griffey is coming around! In the corner is Bernie. He's going to try to score! Here's the division championship! Mariners win it! Mariners win it!
Musburger and Jim Kaat also called Games 1-2 of the 1995 American League Championship Series. Bob Costas and Bob Uecker called the rest of the games on NBC.
College Football
Musburger's college football work for ESPN and ABC was extensive. He called seven BCS National Championship games. These included the 2000, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 games.
Starting in 2006, Musburger called ABC Sports' college football prime time series. He worked with analysts Bob Davie and Kirk Herbstreit. Musburger also called the 2007 Rose Bowl. He took over from the retired Keith Jackson. He also called games on ESPN during his time at ABC.
During the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, a camera showed Katherine Webb. She was in the stands cheering for her boyfriend, Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron. Musburger made some comments about her appearance. The next day, ESPN apologized for his remarks, saying they "went too far." However, Katherine Webb said she was not bothered by his comments.
Musburger's work with Saturday Night Football ended in 2014. He and Jesse Palmer became ESPN's main commentators for college football on the SEC Network. Even after that, Musburger still called some games on ESPN and ABC.
VSiN and Las Vegas Raiders (2018–present)
At the 2017 Sugar Bowl in January, Musburger made comments about then-University of Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. Mixon had been involved in an incident where he punched a woman.
Later that month, Musburger announced he would retire from play-by-play broadcasting. His final game was on January 31, 2017, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Musburger said he planned to help his family start a sports handicapping business in Las Vegas. He also wanted to have a sports gambling show on Sirius XM Radio and travel. His new business, Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), is the first network focused on sports gambling information. It broadcasts from a studio at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. Musburger is the managing editor of the network. He also hosts its program My Guys in the Desert. Musburger and his sons sold VSiN to DraftKings in March 2021. However, they remained executives and on-air personalities. DraftKings sold VSiN back to the Musburgers in 2024.
On July 17, 2018, it was announced that Musburger would return to broadcasting. He became the new radio voice for the Oakland Raiders. He signed a three-year contract, which included their first season in Las Vegas in 2020. Musburger continued as the announcer through the 2021 season.
Style
Musburger has a friendly way of speaking. He often calls his viewers "folks." In a 1984 Sports Illustrated article, he said he tried not to "pontificate" (speak in a formal, preachy way) during his broadcasts. In 2004, CNN Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel named him the second-best college football announcer. Mandel said Musburger's voice is linked to many memorable moments in the sport.
Musburger is known for pointing out attractive women in the crowds at games. Some of these women later became famous, including CJ Perry and Katherine Webb McCarron.
Other Media
Musburger appeared as a reporter in the movie Rocky II. He even had an action figure made of his role in 2006. He also played the right leg of the fictional monster Scuzzlebutt on an episode of South Park. He made small appearances in the movies The Main Event and The Waterboy. In the movies Cars 2 and Planes, he voiced Brent Mustangburger, a cartoon version of himself. He appeared as himself in an episode of the ABC sitcom Happy Endings called "Lying Around."
Musburger is played by John Dellaporta in the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. He also has a voice cameo as himself in the show. Kevin Nealon also parodied him on Saturday Night Live.
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