Greg Gumbel

Greg Gumbel Speaker Biography

Greg Gumbel’s standout work in the busy world of sports broadcasting has made his face, his name and his voice as familiar as any in the industry. Across almost 40 years in the business, Gumbel has become one of the most outstanding and best known announcers in sports television. In the fall, he teams with his partner, Dan Dierdorf, to call exciting NFL play-by-play action across the country on CBS.

Prior to returning to the booth in 2006, Gumbel successfully completed his second season as the host of CBS’ Emmy award winning show The NFL Today. He formerly hosted The NFL Today on CBS from 1990 to 1993 and The NFL on NBC. Gumbel was also the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports’ coverage of the National Football League from 1998 to 2003. In that capacity, he called the thrilling action at Super Bowl 38 in Houston and Super Bowl 35 in Tampa. He is the first network broadcaster to both call play-by-play and host the Super Bowl. He hosted Super Bowl 26 in Minneapolis, Super Bowl 30 in Tempe and Super Bowl 32 in San Diego. He also called the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu.

When the NFL season winds down, Gumbel switches from one premiere sports attraction to another. This year marks his 14th season as CBS’ College Basketball Host for one of the most thrilling events in all of sports, the Men’s NCAA Championship Tournament. During March Madness, Gumbel spends hours hosting in the studio with his colleagues, analysts Seth Davis and Greg Anthony, providing the latest highlights on the exciting Road to the Final Four.

In a broadcast career that began in 1973, Gumbel has seen tours of duty at Chicago’s WMAQ-TV, ESPN, the Madison Square Garden Network, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and, now, again at CBS.

His play-by-play resume includes the NFL, the NBA and college basketball, Major League Baseball and the College World Series Championship, as well as having been the voice at various times for the NY Yankees, the NY Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Seattle Mariners.

As host, he has covered the NFL and college football, Major League Baseball, the Daytona 500, the World Figure Skating Championships, the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Gumbel also served as the primetime anchor for the record-setting 1994 Olympic Winter Games from Lillehammer, Norway.

A 3-time Emmy Award winner, Gumbel was born May 3, 1946 in New Orleans and grew up in Chicago, graduating from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa with a degree in English. Most recently, Gumbel is proud to be a member of the Loras Board of Regents.

For 12 years, Gumbel served as a member of the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes. He has since been named an honorary trustee and was elected to the March of Dimes National Board of Advisors in 2007.

In 2007, Gumbel was the honoree and the recipient of the Pat Summerall award. Gumbel was honored for both his stellar work as one of sports outstanding broadcasters and for his efforts to help make a difference in the lives of those he has touched. The charity benefiting this award winning event is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Most recently, he was honored to become a member of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Professional Advisory Council.

When Gumbel’s not doing play-by-play or hosting on-air for CBS, he enjoys speaking to groups all around the country sharing his motivational thoughts, ideas and experiences from the world of sports.