College Basketball on CBS Sports

American TV series or program

For the telecasts of the Division I men's basketball tournament jointly produced by CBS and TNT Sports, see NCAA March Madness (TV program).

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College Basketball on CBS Sports

Previous logo as part of CBS Sports' new look launched on February 7, 2016.

Also known as| NCAA on CBS
Genre| College basketball telecasts
Presented by| See List of CBS Sports college basketball commentators
Theme music composer| Bob Christianson and Trevor Rabin
Opening theme| "CBS/Turner March Madness Theme"
Ending theme| "One Shining Moment"
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 42
Production
Camera setup| Multi-camera
Running time| 120 minutes or until game ends
Production company| CBS Sports
Original release
Network| CBS (1981–present)
CBS Sports Network (2006–present)
Release| November 28, 1981 (1981-11-28) –
present
Related
NCAA March Madness (CBS and TNT Sports)
NBA on TNT

College Basketball on CBS Sports (usually referred to on-air as the Road to the Final Four, or simply the NCAA on CBS) is the branding used for broadcasts of men's NCAA Division I basketball games that are produced by CBS Sports, for CBS, CBSSN, and Facebook.

From 1982 to 2015, CBS Sports obtained broadcast television rights to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, replacing NBC which had been airing the game since 1969.[1] Beginning in the 2016 season, TBS has held the rights to broadcast the NCAA Division I Championship in Men's Basketball in even-numbered years, while CBS continues to air the game in odd-numbered years.

In addition, CBS Sports currently holds broadcasting rights to conference regular season games including the American Athletic Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big East Conference, Big Ten Conference, Conference USA, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-American Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Patriot League, Southeastern Conference, Southern Conference, and West Coast Conference.

## History

[edit]

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### NIT (1966–1975)

[edit]

See also: List of National Invitation Tournament postseason broadcasters

From 1966 to 1975, CBS provided national television coverage for selected games from the National Invitation Tournament. Before 1975, the NCAA only allowed one team per conference to play in the NCAA tournament. Therefore, the NIT got many top teams and was considered somewhat comparable in quality to the NCAA Tournament.

In the early part of this era (circa 1966–1968), CBS carried one game on the opening Saturday and the championship game the following Saturday. By 1969, CBS moved their first round coverage from Saturday to Sunday to avoid conflicting with the NCAA tournament coverage on NBC. In the process, the NIT title game went head-to-head with the NCAA consolation game. The same would be true on both counts for the next three years.

In 1973, CBS expanded their NIT coverage to four games. The March 17 Notre Dame vs. USC game went up against an NCAA Tournament game on NBC. Meanwhile, the March 24 Notre Dame vs. North Carolina game went up against the first NCAA Final Four game.

In 1974, CBS went from covering four to covering five games in the NIT. The March 16 doubleheader Maryland Eastern Shore vs. Manhattan and Purdue vs. North Carolina went up against the 1974 NCAA tournament on NBC. Meanwhile, the March 23 doubleheader Purdue vs. Jacksonville and Utah vs. Boston College went head-to-head against the NCAA Final Four.

In 1975, CBS did not cover any NIT games on the first weekend, but did carry the semifinals and finals. The March 22 doubleheader Providence vs. St. John's and Princeton vs. Oregon went head-to-head with the NCAA tournament.

### 1980s

[edit]

See also: NCAA basketball tournament selection process § Selection Sunday

Besides being their first year covering the NCAA tournament,[2] 1982 also marked the first year that the NCAA selection show[3] was broadcast on television.

For their inaugural season,[4] CBS had to scramble to arrange a regular season schedule as NBC still held exclusive rights to certain collegiate conferences. CBS also signed Billy Packer away from NBC to be its top analyst (teaming with play-by-play announcer Gary Bender,[5] and later Brent Musburger and Jim Nantz). Packer also played a key role in helping CBS put together its schedule. In the 1981–82 season, CBS did however, happen to obtain contracts with the Metro and Missouri Valley Conferences. During the 1982 NCAA tournament, CBS introduced 11:30 p.m. (Eastern Time Zone) games on Thursday and Friday nights for the first two weekends.

CBS also aired an NBA game in the noon timeslot on Sunday, March 14 while only showing a doubleheader of NCAA games. During the telecast of the March 14, 1982 Idaho vs. Iowa game, Fred White started the game on play-by-play with Irv Brown as analyst, but White came down with laryngitis a few minutes into the game. So Brown shifted to play-by-play (for the first time ever) and Washington State head coach George Raveling came out of the stands to serve as analyst for the remainder of the game.

Tom Brookshier, who was a play-by-play broadcaster for the NFL on CBS at the time, became the subject of controversy because of a remark he made during a Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints game broadcast on December 11, 1983. After a program note for an upcoming telecast of an NCAA men's basketball game involving the Louisville Cardinals, Brookshier said that the players on the Louisville team had "a collective I.Q. of about 40". This resulted in Neal Pilson, then president of CBS Sports, apologizing to Louisville school officials and later suspending Brookshier for the last weekend of the NFL regular season. Louisville's athletic director, Bill Olsen, felt that the remark was racism, since Louisville's starting five were all African Americans. Brookshier later apologized, calling his remark "stupid" and "dumb," but was angered over CBS' reaction, saying "I'm not about to be judged on one comment." He added, "I've done a lot of things for charity. Now my own network is bailing out on me and taking me off the air. After 20 years at CBS, I deserve better than this."[6] The apology was accepted by the university, as its president, Donald Swain, invited Brookshier to be the featured speaker at the school's annual football kickoff luncheon in Clarksville, Indiana on August 2, 1984.[7][8] Brookshier was reinstated in CBS's announcing lineup for the 1984 NFL season, continuing as a network commentator through the 1987 NFL season.

For the 1984 NCAA tournament, CBS expanded its coverage on the first Sunday to a triple header. In areas which received the March 23 Wake Forest vs. DePaul game (most of the nation), CBS joined the Georgetown vs. UNLV game in progress (although some stations may have aired a syndicated program at 11:30 and carried the Georgetown vs. UNLV game in its entirety at midnight) around 1:30 a.m. ESPN re-aired the CBS feed of the Georgetown-UNLV game at 2:30 am.

The 1985 NCAA tournament marked the first year that CBS had aired a regional semifinal tournament doubleheader, leaving ESPN with only one live game on each of these nights. Also that year, Brent Musburger took over from Gary Bender in the top CBS play-by-play role (but worked in the studio on the first weekend). Meanwhile, Pat Summerall made a return to basketball play-by-play during the tournament after having not worked any basketball games since the 1974 NBA playoffs). Summerall called second-round tournament games in Atlanta alongside Larry Conley.

In the 1986 NCAA tournament, Jim Nantz made his NCAA tournament play-by-play debut, calling second-round games in Greensboro with Bill Raftery. Back on January 18, Nantz did play-by-play on his first college basketball game for CBS, a regional telecast between Arizona and Miami. One year later, CBS started using Nantz as the studio host for the NCAA tournament.

The 1987 NCAA tournament marked the first year that CBS used the song "One Shining Moment" for its tournament epilogue.[citation needed] 1987 was the last year that CBS aired an NCAA tournament game on broadcast delay (Syracuse vs. Florida from East Rutherford on March 19 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time; the actual tip-off time was 6:30 p.m.). 1987 would also prove to be the last time that CBS used its #1 announce team (in this case, Brent Musburger and Billy Packer) on two regional finals. Musburger and Packer called the Syracuse vs. North Carolina game in East Rutherford) and Indiana vs. LSU game in Cincinnati.

1988 was the first year that CBS televised all regional semifinals. In these years, CBS only came on the air for basketball at 7:30 p.m. ET for basketball in the regions which got the 7:30 game. In essence, most of the country was "in the dark" until 8 p.m. This was also the first year that CBS moved the Final Four games to 5:30 p.m. ET. CBS used Sports Illustrated writer Curry Kirkpatrick as an analyst for the second round. Kirkpatrick teamed with Tim Ryan on the second-round games in Atlanta.

### 1990s

[edit]

For the 1990 NCAA tournament, CBS expanded its coverage on the first Saturday to show a quadruple header. This particular tournament also marked Brent Musburger's last assignment for CBS. Although Musburger was fired on April Fools' Day (which fell on the Sunday of Final Four weekend that year), he still did play-by-play for the championship game. As previously mentioned, Musburger had done play-by-play (although he worked in the studio for the first weekends) for CBS' coverage of the Final Four since 1985.

During the 1990–91 season, CBS' February 10, 1991 broadcast of a game between UNLV and Arkansas (which, respectively, were the No. 1 and No. 2 college basketball teams in the nation at the time) drew the highest Nielsen ratings for a regular season college basketball game since 1985.

In the 1991 NCAA tournament, CBS assumed responsibility for covering all games of the NCAA tournament, with the exception of the single Tuesday night "play-in" game (the play-in game – between teams ranked as No. 64 and No. 65 seeds – is televised by ESPN, except for the first one, which was aired on then-CBS owned cable channel Paramount Network, and used CBS graphics and announcers). For the evening sessions in the first round, CBS only came on the air at 7:30 p.m. for basketball games in the regions which received a 7:30 game broadcast. Otherwise, most of the country was "in the dark" until 8:00 p.m. 1991 was also the first year that the Saturday regional finals started at 3:30 p.m.

The 1992 NCAA tournament also featured the return of Al McGuire to NCAA tournament commentary for the first time since 1981 (NBC's final year broadcasting the tournament). McGuire wasn't sure he could handle four games on the first round, so CBS used Greg Kelser for the afternoon session in Milwaukee alongside Dick Stockton. Meanwhile, this year, CBS again used Jim Nantz and Billy Packer in the studio for the first weekend. It was during the 1992 tournament that CBS televised the now legendary East Regional Final between Duke and Kentucky. With Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore on commentary, this game has since been seen by many as the single greatest college basketball game ever played.[9]

In 1993, CBS adopted their current theme, which has been used in variations ever since (the first update coming in 2004).[citation needed] This year, CBS kept Nantz in the studio for the first weekend of the 1993 NCAA tournament, but used Packer on games with a different play-by-play partner (such as James Brown, and subsequently, and Dick Stockton, Bob Rathbun, and Bob Carpenter). CBS would continue this practice until 1998.

The 1995 tournament was the first year that CBS moved the Sunday regional finals to 2:30 p.m. During the 1995–96 season, CBS used a "wheel" concept on selected days, using a set of games with start times that were usually staggered by one hour. For example, CBS might have a game starting at 2:00 p.m., another one at 3:00 p.m., and a third one at 4:00 p.m. Some areas of the country would see the 2:00 p.m. game, then join the middle game in progress around 4:00 p.m. (likely seeing the second half only), and then join the late game in progress around 5:00 p.m. Other areas might see the first half of the 2:00 p.m. game, then see the entire 3:00 p.m. game and then join the late game in progress. CBS would periodically use this concept the next few seasons as well. It would influence how the 2011 selection show was conducted in terms of start times, except by that time, four different networks would be airing games.

1996 was the first NCAA tournament on which Gus Johnson called play-by-play for CBS. Johnson worked with Quinn Buckner on first and second-round games in Indianapolis.

Jim Nantz came down with laryngitis during the January 17, 1998 game between UCLA and Stanford game and sat out on January 18, where Billy Packer was scheduled to work New Mexico at Arizona. CBS had no games on the weekend of February 14 as it was CBS Olympic broadcasts the 1998 Winter Olympics.

With the 1998 tournament, CBS started using the team of Jim Nantz and Billy Packer to call games the first weekend. The previous several years, Nantz worked the studio on the first weekend (as was the case with his predecessor, Brent Musburger) while Packer called games with various partners. 1998 also marked first tournament appearance for Ian Eagle, who teamed with Jim Spanarkel in early round games in Sacramento.

1999 served as the first year of the DirecTV Mega March Madness package. This was also the first year that Kevin Harlan called the NCAA tournament and the last year for Al McGuire. Harlan called first-round games in Seattle alongside Jon Sundvold. Meanwhile, McGuire's final tournament game for CBS was the regional final between Duke and Temple at East Rutherford. McGuire worked alongside Verne Lundquist during the 1999 tournament.

### 2000s

[edit]

In 1999, CBS began broadcasting its coverage of the Final Four in high-definition television. From 2000 to 2004, only one first- or second-round site and one regional site were designated as sites for the high definition broadcasts. In 2005, all regional games were broadcast in HD, and four first- and second-round sites were designated for HD coverage. Local stations broadcasting in both digital television and analog television had the option of airing separate games on their high definition and standard-definition television channels, to take advantage of the available HD coverage.

2000 marked the return of Dick Enberg to NCAA tournament play-by-play after 19 years. Enberg was paired with James Worthy in 2000, Bill Walton in 2001, Matt Goukas from 2002 to 2004, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar along with Goukas in 2004, and Jay Bilas beginning in 2005. This was also the first year that CBS moved the Saturday regional final to 4:30 p.m. ET.

In 2001, CBS assigned the team of Jim Nantz and Billy Packer to a Thursday/Saturday tournament regional for the first time ever. Also in 2001, the NCAA expanded the tournament to 65 teams and created a Tuesday night "play-in" game on TNN (which was called by Tim Brando and Rick Pitino from Dayton). 2002 had CBS broadcast the Saturday second round quadrupleheader at 1:00 p.m. and the Final Four to 6:00 p.m. for the first time. By this time however, the "play-in" game moved to ESPN (this time called by Mike Tirico and Len Elmore).

On March 20 and 21, 2003, CBS provided Iraq War coverage during the afternoon sessions. As a result, ESPN carried the tournament games using CBS announcers. This also led CBS to expand to a quadruple header for its Sunday game broadcasts on March 23. Also in 2003, CBS struck a deal with Yahoo! to offer live streaming of the first three rounds of the tournament through its Yahoo! Platinum service, for $16.95 a month.[10]

For 2004, CBS assigned Jim Nantz and Billy Packer to a Thursday through Saturday regional for the third time in four years. This was also the only year that Nantz and Packer worked Thursday through Saturday tournament games on each of the first two weekends. That year, CBS sold access to March Madness On Demand for US$9.95, which provided games not otherwise shown on broadcast television. The service was available for free to AOL subscribers.[11] In 2005, the service charged US$19.95 for a subscription, but offered enhanced coverage of pregame and postgame interviews and press conference.[12]

In 2006, March Madness On Demand was available free of charge, but dropped the coverage of interviews and press conferences. The service was profitable and set a record for simultaneous online streams at 268,000.[13] March Madness On Demand has been available free to online users in all subsequent years.

In addition, College Sports Television (later CBS College Sports Network, now CBS Sports Network) broadcast two "late early" games that would not otherwise be broadcast nationally. These were the second games in the daytime session in the Pacific Time Zone, to avoid starting games before 10:00 a.m. These games are also available via March Madness on Demand and on CBS affiliates in the market areas of the teams playing. In most markets, stations break between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time for regular late afternoon programming, which consists of local newscasts and the CBS Evening News, as well as any other syndicated programming such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. In areas where The Price Is Right was pre-empted for basketball, the game show aired within this window. CSTV also broadcast the official pregame and postgame shows and press conferences from the teams involved.[14]

Beginning in 2007, all games in the tournament (including all first and second-round games) were available in high definition, and local stations were required to air the same game on both their analog and digital channels. However, due to satellite limitations, first round "constant" feeds were only available in standard definition.[15] Some stations that operate digital television chose not to televise high-definition broadcasts of the first and second rounds and the regional semifinals, and split their signal into digital subchannel to show all games going on simultaneously. Most notably, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina provided four separate feeds on its digital signal from 2000 to 2010 in order to show all of the games.[16]

Also in 2007, CBS broadcast all games from each regional site in high definition, however, due to limitations in the CBS Broadcast Center, only the "Flex" feeds were available in HD, constant feeds were in standard definition. Upgrades at the CBS Broadcast Center allowed all feeds, flex and constant, to be presented in high definition for the 2008 tournament. Meanwhile, James Brown returned to NCAA tournament play-by-play for the first time since 1994. Brown however drew very negative reviews[17][18] for his performance. Consequently, CBS would not use Brown on play-by-play for the 2008 tournament. CBS also aired one first-round game each day on CSTV.

For 2008, CBS moved the Saturday regional final doubleheader to 6:30 p.m. 2008 also marked the last NCAA tournament in which Billy Packer would serve as a color commentator, a run that started in 1974 (he would be replaced by Clark Kellogg for 2009).

### 2010s

[edit]

See also: NCAA March Madness (TV program)

Despite CBS's contract to carry the tournament until 2013, the NCAA had the option of ending its agreement with the network after the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. This led to speculation that ESPN would snag the rights to future tournament games.[19] However, on April 22, 2010, the NCAA signed a NCAA March Madness deal with CBS and the Turner Broadcasting System[20] worth more than $10.8 billion, allowing CBS to continue airing the entire final four through the national championship, with CBS and Turner splitting coverage of earlier rounds in the now 68-team field. Since 2015, the Final Four and national championship alternate between CBS and TBS with the regional semifinals and finals being split between the two networks.[21]

CBS receives the same number of "windows", or time slots, for its tournament coverage as in previous years. However, all games are now nationally – rather than regionally – televised. Both games from a particular section and site are shown back-to-back on the same network each day, except for the second session on March 20, 2011, which was split between CBS and TruTV so that CBS could show 60 Minutes at its regular time, or as close to it as possible. CBS also keeps coverage of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, which is part of the larger contract for this tournament.[citation needed]

In the 2013–14 season, analysts Greg Anthony and Clark Kellogg switched roles, with Anthony moving to the broadcast booth and Kellogg returning to his previous role as a studio analyst. However, on January 17, 2015, halfway through the 2014–15 season, CBS announced Anthony would be suspended indefinitely following his arrest in Washington, D.C. the previous day on charges of soliciting prostitutes.[22]

Under a sub-licensing agreement with its new rightsholder Fox (following their breakaway from the football-playing members, now known as the American Athletic Conference), CBS acquired rights to selected Big East Conference games beginning 2013–14, mainly airing on CBS Sports Network (but with selected games airing on broadcast television). As of the 2019–20 season, CBS will air 20 games per-season, with at least two on broadcast television.[23]

CBS also sublicensed rights to selected Atlantic Coast Conference (until 2018–19), Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference games beginning 2012–13 from ESPN.[24]

In 2017, CBS extended its contract with the Big Ten Conference as part of a new, six-year contract, with the network carrying 10 regular-season games per-season, and coverage of the semi-finals and championship games of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament.[25]

### 2020s

[edit]

In August 2022, CBS renewed its rights to the Big Ten under a seven-year deal beginning in the 2023–24 season; the network will air an increased number of regular-season games, and continue carrying coverage of the semi-finals and championship games of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, while also adding the championship game of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament.[26] The 2022–23 season would mark the last for Jim Nantz, who would step down after 38 years between the studio and play-by-play to spend time with family (he will continue with his NFL and golf assignments). Ian Eagle, the announcer immediately behind Nantz on the NFL, will take over as basketball lead.[27]

In August 2023, CBS announced a new three-year deal with the Summit League. CBS Sports Network will at least six regular season men's basketball games, as well as the semifinals of the women's tournament and the finals of both the men's and women's tournaments. The network also has the ability to add 6 additional men's and women's regular season games.[28]

## Coverage overview (2010–present)

[edit]

### March Madness feed overview

[edit]

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#### Former

[edit]

Until 2010, CBS broadcast the remaining 63 games of the NCAA tournament proper. Most areas saw only eight of 32 first-round games, seven second-round games, and four regional semifinal games (out of the possible 56 games during these rounds). Coverage preempted regular programming on the network, except during a two-hour window from about 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time when local affiliates were allowed to carry local newscasts and/or syndicated programming. The structure used by CBS resulted in far fewer hours of first-round coverage than under the former ESPN scheduling structure but allows the games to reach a much larger audience than ESPN is able to reach.

CBS provided three sets of feeds from each venue, a "constant" feed, a "swing" feed and a "flex" feed. Constant feeds remained primarily on a given game and were used primarily by stations with local interest in a game. Despite its name, a constant feed would occasionally veer away to other games for brief updates, however, coverage generally remained with the initial game. Swing feeds tended to stay on games of natural interest, such as teams from local conferences, but would go to other games that have close scores. On a flex feed, coverage flipped from one venue to another, depending on the action at the various games in progress. If one game was a blowout, coverage would switch to a more competitive game. Flex games had no natural interest for the stations carrying them, allowing the flex game to be the best game in progress. Station feeds were planned in advance and individual owned-and-operated station and network affiliate stations had the option of requesting either constant or flex feed for various games. All games on DirecTV's Mega March Madness were sourced from the constant feed. In contrast, the regional finals, the national semifinals and the national championship were broadcast throughout the country.

From 2011 to 2013, CBS aired all of its game broadcasts on a national basis. The network aired a total of 26 games in each of the three years (which did not include the games to which Turner Sports held broadcast rights): eight second-round games (four games per day), seven third-round games (four games during the first day and three games on the second due to the network's broadcast of 60 Minutes), four games in the Sweet 16 (two games per day), all four of the Elite Eight games (two games per day), both of the Final Four games and the Championship Game.

In 2014 and 2015, CBS aired all of its game telecasts nationally. The network aired a total of 22 games in each of the two years (not including the games broadcast through Turner Sports' end of the agreement): eight second-round games (four games per day), seven third-round games (four games on the first day and three games on the second to accommodate its airing of 60 Minutes), four games in the Sweet 16 (two games per day), two of the Elite Eight games (both of which were played on a Sunday) and the Championship Game.

#### Current

[edit]

In 2016, CBS once again aired all of its game broadcasts nationally. The network aired a total of 21 games (not including the games broadcast through Turner Sports' end of the agreement): eight first-round games (four games per day), seven second-round games (four games on the first day and three games on the second to accommodate its airing of 60 Minutes) four games in the Sweet Sixteen (two games per day) and two of the Elite Eight games (both of which were played on a Saturday).[29] For the 2021 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament CBS broadcast 24 games throughout the tournament. This included the National Championship, Final Four Semifinals, Elite 8, Sweet 16 and First and Second Rounds of the tournament.

### Regular season coverage overview

[edit]

#### CBS

[edit]

* Big Ten Conference[30]
* Tournament semifinals and championship
* Missouri Valley Conference (Championship Only)[31]
* Atlantic 10 Conference (Championship Only)[32]
* Southeastern Conference[31]
* Big 12 Conference[31]
* Big East Conference[33]
* Mountain West Conference[34]
* Tournament championship
* Pac-12 Conference[31]
* American Athletic Conference[35]
* CBS Sports Classic[36]

#### CBS Sports Network

[edit]

* Conference USA[37]
* Tournament semifinals and championship
* Mountain West Conference[34]
* Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals
* Atlantic 10 Conference[32]
* Tournament semifinals
* Big East Conference[33]
* Missouri Valley Conference[38]
* Tournament semifinal
* Mid-American Conference[39]
* Tournament semifinals
* Colonial Athletic Association[40]
* Tournament semifinal and championship
* West Coast Conference[41]
* Patriot League[42]
* Tournament semifinal and championship
* Northeast Conference[43]
* Southern Conference[44]
* Cancún Challenge[45]
* Emerald Coast Classic[46]
* Veterans Classic[47]
* Jamaica Classic[48]
* Bahamas Championship[49]
* SoCal Challenge[50]
* Hall of Fame Classic[51]
* Sunshine Slam[52]
* Legends of Basketball Showcase[53]

## Results

[edit]

Main article: College Basketball on CBS results

Each year, CBS broadcasts a number of regular-season match-ups from every major conference, in addition to carrying the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

## Commentators

[edit]

Main article: List of CBS Sports college basketball commentators

## Theme music

[edit]

The current theme for CBS' coverage, simply titled "CBS NCAA Basketball Theme," was written by Bob Christianson and has been in use by the network since the 1992–1993 season.[54] While different arrangements have been used over that time, the melody has remained largely the same. The theme has also been used for tournament coverage on TBS, TNT and TruTV as part of its broadcast partnership with CBS. Although this new theme is different from the CBS version, it was originally only used for the NCAA Tournament broadcasts and for CBS coverage of conference tournaments. CBS continued to use the version in use since 2004 as its main theme for its regular-season coverage until the 2021–22 season, when it began using the tournament version of its theme music full-time.

At the end of CBS' coverage, a highlight reel featuring memorable moments from the tournament is shown, set to the song "One Shining Moment" originally written and performed by David Barrett (1987–1993 and 2000–2002), and subsequently covered by Teddy Pendergrass (1994–1999), Luther Vandross (2003–2009 and since 2011) and Jennifer Hudson (2010).

### Before "One Shining Moment"

[edit]

The following is a list of songs that CBS used during their closing montages from 1982 to 1986:

Year | Song | Artist

|
|

1982 | "There's No Stopping Us" | Sister Sledge
1983 | "All Right"  | Christopher Cross
1984 | "Whatever We Imagine"  | James Ingram
1985 | "Theme from Patton" | Jerry Goldsmith
1986 | "Being Alive"  | Barbra Streisand

## References

[edit]

1. ^ O'Malley, Kevin (April 4, 2021). "How CBS snared the NCAA Tourney rights from NBC 40 years ago – in a competitive world of 3 networks". Sports Broadcast Journal.
2. ^ "CBS at 75". CBS.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. "March 29, 1982 In CBS Sports' first-ever broadcast of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game, University of North Carolina, with freshman Michael Jordan, beats Georgetown for the NCAA crown. CBS Sports wins the Outstanding Live Sports Special Emmy Award for its coverage."
3. ^ "CBS at 75". CBS. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. "March 7, 1982 For the first time ever, the "NCAA Selection Show" is broadcast live to a national audience by CBS Sports."
4. ^ "Milestone firsts in college basketball TV history". Classic Sports TV and Media. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
5. ^ "CBS at 75". CBS.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. "April 14, 1983 In an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game upset, Gary Bender and Billy Packer call North Carolina State's upset of the University of Houston."
6. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Brookshier Penalized". The New York Times. December 14, 1983. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
7. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Louisville Gesture". The New York Times. July 12, 1984. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
8. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Brookshier's 'Penance'". The New York Times. August 3, 1984. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
9. ^ Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002.
10. ^ "Yahoo unveils Platinum paid service". CNET News.com. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
11. ^ "NCAA Premium Webcasts To Carry Ads". PaidContent.org. March 17, 2004. Archived from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
12. ^ "NCAA MARCH MADNESS ON DEMAND SPEARHEADS CSTV.COM'S ONLINE COVERAGE :: CSTV.com Features Exclusive Blogs From Coaches Norm Roberts, Steve Fisher And Pat Kennedy, Streaming Video of Classic NCAA Tournament Moments, Exclusive Columns From Matt Doherty, Brian Curtis, Debbie Antonelli, Jerry Palm". College Sports Television. Archived from the original on April 28, 2005.
13. ^ "CBS's NCAA March Madness On Demand Sets Internet Record For Simultaneous Live Viewing Of An Entertainment Or Sports Event". Streamingmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
14. ^ "CSTV: #1 in College Sports – Men's Basketball". CSTV.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007.
15. ^ "Why we didn't get Stanford in HDTV (but the rest of the country did) – Morning Buzz". Mercextra.com. March 15, 2007.
16. ^ "WRAL Digital Airs Entire NCAA basketball tournament". Capitol Broadcasting Company. March 16, 2000.
17. ^ Patashnik, Josh (March 18, 2008). "The Golden Gus". The New Republic.
18. ^ Simmons, Bill (March 20, 2007). "A fan's notes: Gus, Kevin, more". Page 2 : Bill Simmons Blog – ESPN.
19. ^ Don Surber. "ESPN to snag the Final Four?". Charleston Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2010-04-01.
20. ^ Fang, Ken (March 17, 2017). "Looking back at how the NCAA-CBS/Turner partnership began". Awful Announcing.
21. ^ "NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Expands To 68 Teams; CBS Adds Turner To Television Team". CBS (Press release). TV by the Numbers (Zap2It/Tribune Media). April 22, 2010. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010.
22. ^ "Greg Anthony suspended indefinitely by CBS, Turner Sports after arrest for soliciting prostitute". USA Today. Gannett Company. Associated Press. January 17, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
23. ^ "CBS will sublicense Big East basketball games from Fox through 2024–25". Awful Announcing. 2019-05-09. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
24. ^ "ViacomCBS Press Express | CBS Sports". ViacomCBS Press Express.
25. ^ Stubbs, Roman (2017-07-24). "Big Ten formally announces six-year media rights deal with ESPN, FOX and CBS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
26. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2022-08-18). "Big Ten announces deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, including championship game splits". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
27. ^ Marchand, Andrew (2022-10-24). "Jim Nantz to call his final NCAA Tournament with Ian Eagle as successor". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
28. ^ "Summit League unveils an expansion of media rights through agreements with CBS Sports and Midco". Midco Sports (Press release). 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
29. ^ "CBS Sports and Turner Sports Announce 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game Windows and Programming Schedule | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
30. ^ "Paramount Press Express | CBS Sports | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Releases". www.paramountpressexpress.com. 18 August 2022.
31. ^ a b c d "SEC, CBS AGREE TO CONTRACT". Orlando Sentinel. 12 February 1994.
32. ^ a b "Atlantic 10 and CBS Sports Extend Television Partnership". atlantic10.com. 25 April 2024.
33. ^ a b "BIG EAST, CBS Continue Broadcast Agreement". www.bigeast.com.
34. ^ a b "Mountain West and CBS Sports renew TV deal to air college football, basketball games through 2025-26". CBSSports.com. 9 January 2020.
35. ^ "AP source: American Athletic makes 12-year TV deal with ESPN". USA TODAY.
36. ^ "CBS Sports Classic to launch in 2014, includes college hoops blue bloods". CBSSports.com. 7 May 2014.
37. ^ "Conference USA extends TV rights deal with CBS". June 13, 2012.
38. ^ "MVC Announces Basketball Package on CBS Sports". mvc-sports.com. 5 October 2022.
39. ^ "MAC & CBS Sports Network Announce Four Year Contract Extension". getsomemaction.com.
40. ^ "Colonial Athletic Association and CBS Sports Network sign multi-year deal". July 11, 2017.
41. ^ Harper, Mitch (September 19, 2019). "WCC Signs Extension With ESPN, Adds CBS Sports In New Media Rights Deal". KSL Sports.
42. ^ "Patriot League and CBS Sports Network Reach Multi-Year Television Agreement". patriotleague.org. 15 June 2015.
43. ^ "Northeast Conference Announces 2022-23 Basketball Television Schedule". northeastconference.org.
44. ^ "SoCon announces CBS Sports Network men's basketball schedule". soconsports.com. 20 October 2022.
45. ^ "How to watch the Cancun Challenge on CBS Sports Network and SportsLive: Date, bracket, times". CBSSports.com. 19 November 2018.
46. ^ @robanderson (September 10, 2014). "CBS Sports Network announces it will televise the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic. Field is Creighton, Cincy, Ole Miss, MTSU" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
47. ^ "Veterans Classic". Naval Academy Athletics.
48. ^ "BIG EAST, CBS Continue Broadcast Agreement".
49. ^ Medina, Daniella. "How to watch Mississippi State vs. Louisville basketball on TV, live stream in Baha Mar Hoops showcase". The Clarion-Ledger.
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51. ^ "Hall of Fame Classic to Air on CBS Sports Network". University of San Francisco Athletics. 20 October 2022.
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54. ^ "CBS NCAA Basketball Theme Made Composer Big Bucks". AOL. March 22, 2007. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Preceded by

NBC

|  NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship television broadcaster
1982–present  |  Succeeded by

Incumbent
with TNT Sports (2011–present)

|
|

* v
* t
* e

CBS Sports

National sports networks|

* CBS Sports Network
* CBS Sports Radio
* CBS Sports HQ
* CBS Sports Golazo Network

Streaming affiliation|

* Paramount+

Current programs|

* Bowling on CBS
* CBS Sports Spectacular
* NFL on CBS
* The NFL Today
* Showtime Championship Boxing
* College Football on CBS Sports
* NCAA on CBS
* Road to the Final Four
* NCAA March Madness
* NWSL on CBS
* Professional Bull Riders
* PGA Tour on CBS
* UEFA Champions League

Former programs|

* Alliance of American Football
* Arena Football on CBS
* Boxing
* College World Series
* Cycling
* Major Indoor Soccer League
* Major League Baseball on CBS
* MLL on CBS
* NASCAR on CBS
* NHL on CBS
* NLL on CBS
* North American Soccer League
* NBA on CBS
* SRX on CBS
* U.S. Open Tennis
* Triple Crown
* World Hockey Association

Event coverage|

* Olympics
* 1960 Winter Olympics
* 1960 Summer Olympics
* 1992 Winter Olympics
* 1994 Winter Olympics
* 1998 Winter Olympics
* Pan American Games
* College bowl games

Website: CBSSports.com

* v
* t
* e

NBA on CBS

Related programs|

* ABA on CBS
* The CBS Late Movie
* College Basketball on CBS

Related articles|

* NBA on TV
* NBA Finals TV ratings
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s

Commentators|

* All-Star Game
* NBA Finals

Key figures|

| Play-by-play|

* Gary Bender
* Tim Brant
* Bob Costas
* Don Criqui
* Eddie Doucette
* Frank Glieber
* Greg Gumbel
* Jim Kelly
* Verne Lundquist
* Brent Musburger
* Andy Musser
* Jim Nantz
* Mike Patrick
* Don Robertson
* Dick Stockton
* Pat Summerall

|

Color
commentators|

* John Andariese
* Rick Barry
* Hubie Brown
* Elgin Baylor
* James Brown
* Quinn Buckner
* Doug Collins
* Billy Cunningham
* Terry Dischinger
* Len Elmore
* Keith Erickson
* John Havlicek
* Tom Heinsohn
* Rod Hundley
* Gus Johnson
* Steve Jones
* Sonny Jurgensen
* Stu Lantz
* Kevin Loughery
* Pete Maravich
* Jon McGlocklin
* Dick Motta
* Jeff Mullins
* Billy Packer
* Bill Raftery
* Cal Ramsey
* Oscar Robertson
* Mendy Rudolph
* Bill Russell
* Cazzie Russell
* Lynn Shackelford
* Larry Steele
* Lenny Wilkens

Sideline reporters|

* Charlsie Cantey
* Jane Chastain
* Irv Cross
* Jim Gray
* Sonny Hill
* Dan Jiggetts
* Andrea Joyce
* Pat O'Brien
* Lesley Visser

NBA Finals|

* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990

All-Star Game|

* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990

Lore|

* "The Bad Boys"
* "Jordan Rules"
* Christmas Day
* "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
* "The Shot"

| Rivalries|

* Bulls–Cavaliers
* Bulls–Pistons
* Celtics–Lakers
* Celtics–Pistons
* Lakers–Pistons
* 76ers–Celtics rivalry

|

* v
* t
* e

CBS programming (current and upcoming)

Primetime|

* 48 Hours (since 1988)
* 60 Minutes (since 1968)
* The Amazing Race (since 2001)
* Big Brother (since 2000)
* Big Brother Reindeer Games (since 2023)
* Blue Bloods (since 2010)
* Buddy Games (since 2023)
* The Challenge: USA (since 2022)
* Elsbeth (since 2024)
* The Equalizer (since 2021)
* FBI (since 2018)
* FBI: International (since 2021)
* FBI: Most Wanted (since 2020)
* FBI True (since 2023)
* Fire Country (since 2022)
* The Greatest AtHome Videos (since 2020)
* Ghosts (since 2021)
* Lingo (since 2023)
* Lotería Loca (since 2023)
* NCIS (since 2003)
* The Neighborhood (since 2018)
* Raid the Cage (since 2023)
* The Real CSI: Miami (since 2024)
* Secret Celebrity Renovation (since 2021)
* Superfan (since 2023)
* Survivor (since 2000)
* S.W.A.T. (since 2017)
* Tough as Nails (since 2020)
* Tracker (since 2024)

Daytime|

* The Bold and the Beautiful (since 1987)
* Let's Make a Deal (since 2009)
* The Price Is Right (since 1972)
* The Talk (since 2010)
* The Young and the Restless (since 1973)

Late night|

* After Midnight (since 2024)
* The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (since 2015)

News|

* 48 Hours (since 1988)
* 60 Minutes (since 1968)
* CBS Evening News (since 1948)
* CBS Morning News (since 1982)
* CBS Mornings (since 2021)
* CBS News Sunday Morning (since 1979)
* CBS Overnight News (since 2015)
* Face the Nation (since 1954)

Sports|

* PGA Tour on CBS (since 1956)
* CBS Sports Spectacular (since 1960)
* College Basketball on CBS (since 1981)
* NCAA March Madness (since 2011)
* College Football on CBS (1950–66; since 1968)
* NFL on CBS (1956–94; since 1998)
* The NFL Today (1961–94; since 1998)

Upcoming|

* Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage (2024)
* NCIS: Origins (2024)
* The Gates (2025)
* Hollywood Squares (2025)
* Watson (2025)

* v
* t
* e

College basketball on television

Current broadcast partners|

* CBS
* ESPN/ABC
* Fox/FS1
* NBC/USA
* TNT Sports (TBS/TNT/truTV)
* The CW

Secondary broadcast partners|

* Bally Sports
* CBS Sports Network
* Next Level Sports
* ESPNU
* Stadium College Sports
* FS2
* Stadium

Specialty broadcast partners|

* Big Ten
* Pac-12
* BYUtv
* LHN
* SEC
* ACC

Former broadcast partners|

* ASN
* Jefferson Pilot
* Lincoln Financial
* Lorimar Sports
* Mizlou
* MountainWest
* North Dakota
* Prime
* Buckeye
* SNI
* SportsChannel
* TVS
* NBCSN
* ACC (Raycom)
* beIN Sports

General media|

* Big Monday
* Championship Week
* College GameDay
* Rivalry Week
* Saturday Primetime
* Selection Sunday
* Super Tuesday
* Thursday Night Showcase
* Wednesday Night Hoops
* Fox Primetime Hoops

Commentators by network|

* ABC
* CBS
* ESPN
* NBC
* TBS/TNT/truTV

Broadcasters by event|

* AAC Tournament Finals
* ACC Tournament Finals
* America East tournament Finals
* ASUN Tournament Finals
* Atlantic 10 Tournament Finals
* Big 12 Tournament Finals
* Big East tournament Finals
* Big Eight tournament Finals
* Big Sky tournament Finals
* Big Ten tournament Finals
* Big West tournament
* CBI Finals
* CIT Finals
* Colonial Athletic Association Tournament
* Conference USA Tournament
* Horizon League Tournament Finals
* MAAC Tournament Finals
* McDonald's All-American Game
* Men's Final Four
* Metro Conference tournament Finals
* Mid-American Conference tournament Finals
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament Finals
* Missouri Valley Conference tournament Finals
* Northeast Conference tournament Finals
* Pacific-12 Tournament Finals
* Patriot League Tournament Finals
* SEC Tournament Finals
* Southern Conference tournament Finals
* Southland Tournament Finals
* Southwest Tournament Finals
* Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament Finals
* Summit League Tournament Finals
* Sun Belt Tournament Finals
* WAC Tournament Finals
* West Coast Conference tournament
* Women's Final Four

Other|

* ESPN Full Court
* "Game of the Century"
* Mega March Madness
* NCAA Productions
* "One Shining Moment"
* "Roundball Rock"

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