HOUSTON, Tex. – Jim Nantz, one of the best-known voices in sports, will be honored with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Houston Sports Awards.
He joins the 2021 Houston Sports Hall of Fame Class—Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Andre Johnson, Guy V. Lewis, and Bill Yeoman—that will also be honored at the fourth annual event.
“There are certain things that come around in your life and this one, I can’t think of anything that would mean more to me than to be honored by the City of Houston,’’ Nantz said. “It’s number one for me. When the town that embraced you and gave you your chance and the people in the city gave you your chance . . . It doesn’t get any better than this. This is awesome.’’
The 61-year-old, who will call Super Bowl LV on February 7, started his University of Houston career as a member of the golf team, but his dream of becoming a broadcaster soon overshadowed his golf career. In addition to practicing his talents on UH teammates and suitemates Fred Couples, Blaine McCallister, and John Horne, he worked as the public address announcer at then-Hofheinz Pavilion from 1979-1982.
He also worked for both KTRH (740-AM) and KHOU-Channel 11 before leaving Houston for Salt Lake City in 1982.
Nantz, a three-time Emmy winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, joined CBS in 1985 and currently serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for The NFL on CBS; the lead anchor of CBS’s golf coverage, including the PGA Tour, Masters, and the PGA Championship; and lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
In 2007, Nantz became the first commentator in history to complete the rare broadcasting trifecta—calling the Super Bowl, NCAA Men’s Final Four, and the Masters all in a span of 63 days. He repeated that trifecta in 2010, 2013 and 2016. In 2019, he completed an even rarer quintet, calling the AFC Championship, Super Bowl, Final Four, Masters and PGA Championship in a span of 120 days. He will call that same group of events in 2021.
Nantz has earned virtually every honor in the broadcasting world and will be inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame in June, but he also stands out as an advocate and philanthropist. In 2011, he created the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at the Texas Medical Center in honor of his father Jim Nantz, Jr., who suffered with the disease for 13 years before passing away in 2008.
He was inducted into the UH Hall of Honor in 2002 and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from his alma mater.
