In honor of his career as a sportscaster and the work he did that made him an indelible part of March Madness, CBS Sports honored the memory of Greg Gumbel during the network's Selection Sunday show ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Gumbel, who had anchored the Selection Sunday show and CBS Sports' coverage of March Madness for a quarter century, died of cancer in December at the age of 78.
At the opening of Sunday's show, the telecast began with a tribute to Gumbel, whose voice and presence became part of formative and lasting memories that so many have of the NCAA Tournament over the years. The Tournament was among the many great events that Gumbel worked for CBS Sports, which also included the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and much more.
CBS begins the NCAA Tournament Selection Show with a tribute to Greg Gumbel. 🏀🎙️❤️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/TLIxRvG9g4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 16, 2025
While the opening tribute presented a way for viewers to honor and remember Gumbel, he was also honored by the CBS crew that he worked alongside for so long. As shared by Seth Davis, the entire CBS production crew for Selection Sunday wore Rolling Stones T-shirts in honor of Gumbel, who was a major fan of the band.
Start us up! Our CBS studio crew are all wearing Rolling Stones shirts today in honor of Greg Gumbel who loved the Stones. Very much feeling his presence today! pic.twitter.com/ljiUhUTb5q
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 16, 2025
The NCAA Tournament will begin this Tuesday with the First Four before first-round games begin on Thursday.