Greg Gumbel was born in New Orleans on May 3, 1946, and grew up in Chicago’s Hyde Park area. He graduated from De La Salle Institute, then earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Loras College in 1967. His brother Bryant alerted him to a sports-announcing opening at Chicago’s WMAQ-TV, launching his career in 1973.
Gumbel anchored ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1981 to 1989, then joined CBS Sports as host of The NFL Today. He shared studio duties with Terry Bradshaw from 1990 to 1993 and anchored CBS’s Winter Olympics coverage in 1992 and 1994. When CBS lost its NFL rights in 1994, Gumbel moved to NBC Sports, hosting its NFL pregame show through 1998.
Gumbel returned to CBS Sports in 1998, becoming its lead NFL play-by-play announcer alongside Phil Simms. He called Super Bowls XXXV and XXXVIII and, that same year, began a 26-year run as host of CBS’s NCAA basketball tournament coverage. He stepped back from NFL duties after the 2022 season and missed the 2024 tournament due to family and health issues. Gumbel died of cancer on December 27, 2024, at age 78.
