Greg Gumbel, legendary sports broadcaster, dead at 78 after battle with cancer

Greg Gumbel, a longtime sportscaster who called NFL games on CBS for decades and served as the network’s March Madness host, has died “after a courageous battle with cancer,” his family announced Friday.

He was 78 years old.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, Greg Gumbel,” his wife, Marcy, and daughter, Michelle, wrote in a statement released by CBS. “He passed away peacefully surrounded by much love after a courageous battle with cancer. Greg approached his illness like one would expect he would, with stoicism, grace, and positivity. He leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten.

“Greg’s memory will forever be treasured by his family, dearest friends, colleagues and all who loved him.”

Gumbel, who missed last year’s NCAA Tournament due to what the network described as “family health issues,” spent decades at CBS across two stints (1988-93, 1998-2024), returning to the network — after a run at NBC — to pair with Phil Simms and form the No. 1 broadcast team through the end of the 2003 season.

He called Super Bowls XXXV and XXXVIII in January 2001 and February 2004, respectively.

Then, after hosting “The NFL Today” for two seasons, Gumbel returned to calling NFL games for CBS in 2006, a role he continued to hold through the end of the 2022 season.

In 2023, he re-signed with CBS and continued on its college basketball coverage but stepped away from NFL duties.

“The CBS Sports family is devastated by the passing of Greg Gumbel,” David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, said in a statement released by the network. “There has never been a finer gentleman in all of television. He was beloved and respected by those of us who had the honor to call him a friend and colleague.”

Gumbel orchestrated a sports broadcasting career that “broke barriers and set the standard for others to follow,” Berson continued.

He became synonymous with Selection Sunday, when CBS revealed the bracket for March Madness, and served as the network’s host for the NCAA Tournament since returning in 1998.

When the 2024 selection show began and Gumbel was absent, Adam Zucker — filling in as host — and the rest of the crew opened with remarks about Gumbel, with analyst Clark Kellogg saying that, “It’s somewhat surreal that he’s not to my right.”

It marked the first March Madness Gumbel missed since 1997, according to ESPN.

Tributes remembering Gumbel, who took his first broadcasting job at Chicago’s WMAQ, poured in from around the sports media industry Friday evening.

Longtime sports broadcaster Trey Wingo said Gumbel made hosting and calling games “look effortless.”

Emmy-winning producer Dan Forer, who worked at CBS and ESPN Films, described Gumbel as the “best announcer a young producer/director could have because he was extremely inclusive and never ever lost his cool.”

Gumbel, a 1967 graduate of Loras College in Iowa, also anchored “SportsCenter,” worked for MSG Network as a backup Knicks announcer to Marv Albert and hosted the studio portion of the MSG Yankees coverage at different points early in his career.

“A tremendous broadcaster and gifted storyteller,” Berson said in his statement, “Greg led one of the most remarkable and groundbreaking sports broadcasting careers of all time.”