University of Houston Athletics
Nantz Receives GCAA Lifetime Achievement Award
9/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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NORMAN, Okla. â€" University of Houston alumnus and CBS Sports broadcasting great Jim Nantz was selected Tuesday morning as the seventh Lifetime Achievement honoree by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Nantz, who is a three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, will be officially recognized at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet on Monday, Dec. 12, in Las Vegas. Past GCAA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients include Karsten Solheim, Byron Nelson, Ar¬nold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Friends of Golf (FOG) and Jim Awtrey.
Nantz graduated in 1981 with a degree in radio/television from the University of Houston, where he was recruited as a member of the golf team coached by the le¬gendary Dave Williams. In May 2001, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from his alma mater, becoming its first former student-athlete to ever deliver the commencement address and be bestowed an honorary degree at the university. Nantz was named to the UH Athletics Hall of Honor in 2002. With the Lifetime Achievement Award, Nantz will join Williams in the GCAA Hall of Fame.
"My career had been shaped by my years on the University of Houston golf team," said Nantz. "Coach Dave Williams was a profound influence on my life. I am deeply honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Golf Coaches Association of America - an organization I hold in the highest regard."
"The University of Houston has had no finer supporter than Jim Nantz during its history, and we congratulate him on another well-deserved honor," Vice President for Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. "No matter where Jim is or what important event he is covering, he always finds time to support our city and our University."
"Our University and our Golf program are blessed to have someone like Jim Nantz among its membership," Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke said. "I can only imagine how happy and proud Coach Williams would be to see Jim receive an honor like this."
Nantz joined the CBS Television Network in 1985. He currently serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for THE NFL ON CBS, including the Super Bowl and Thursday Night Football games; the lead anchor of CBS's golf coverage, including the PGA Tour, Masters and the PGA Championship; and lead play-by-play announcer for college bas-ketball, including the NCAA Men's Final Four. In 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016, Nantz completed a rare broadcasting triple by becoming the first commentator in history to broadcast the Super Bowl, NCAA Men's Final Four and the Masters, all in the same year.
Nantz joined the CBS Sports golf team in 1986. He became the anchor of the Net¬work's golf coverage in April 1994 and was partnered with Ken Venturi until June 2002, and Lanny Wadkins until 2006 before Sir Nick Faldo assumed the lead ana¬lyst role in 2007. Nantz has hosted broadcasts of the Masters since 1988 and the PGA Championship since 1991, and served as anchor of the biennial Presidents Cup in 1994 and 1996. He has often highlighted players' connections to college golf and highlighted GCAA award recipients.
In August 2011, Nantz received the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pete Rozelle Radio-Tele¬vision Award. He is the youngest recipient ever of this award. Nantz also was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as its youngest recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2002. Nantz joins Dick Enberg and Curt Gowdy as the only broadcasters to receive both Pro Football and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honors.
On January 19, 2011, Nantz returned to his adopted hometown of Houston to team with Houston Method¬ist Hospital at The Texas Medical Center to create the Nantz National Alzheimer Center (NNAC). The NNAC is dedicated to funding innovative diagnostic discoveries for early and accurate detection of Alzheimer's disease and other dementing illnesses in hopes of one day finding a cure ( NantzFriends.org). The NNAC also focuses on the possible connection between concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in athletes and the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Nantz's father, Jim Nantz Jr., himself a former college football player and lifelong inspiration to his broadcaster son, suffered from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease for 13 years and Nantz chronicled his father's story in the instant New York Times bestseller, Always By My Side. Co-authored with Eli Spielman, the book climbed to No.3 on the New York Times list, making it the highest ranking achieved by a sports book in 2008 and the inspiration for Nantz to open the NNAC. The foreword to the book was written by one of his father figures and dear friend, former President George H.W. Bush.
Nantz, along with wine industry veteran Peter Deutsch, CEO of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, formed the Deutsch Nantz Alliance (DNA) to produce an artisanal Sonoma fine wine brand named The Calling (TheCallingWine.com). Released in June 2012, The Calling wines are handcrafted from Sonoma's finest varietals with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir cultivated in the Russian River Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon in Alexan¬der Valley. The Calling wines are highly regarded by the press and have been awarded multiple scores of 90 and above.
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