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Brent Musburger Calling Final Game at Rupp Arena Couldn’t Be More Fitting

By Michael Collins

Baton Rouge, LA - January 30, 2016 - Pete Maravich Assembly Center: Brent Musburger during a regular season game(Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
Baton Rouge, LA - January 30, 2016 - Pete Maravich Assembly Center: Brent Musburger during a regular season game(Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images) /
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Iconic broadcaster Brent Musburger has announced his retirement, and Kentucky’s Rupp Arena will be the cathedral where he bids his farewell.

On January 31st, fans around the world will get to hear for the final time, “You are looking live…” from sports broadcaster Brent Musburger, who has announced his retirement after a distinguished and colorful 48-year career behind the microphone and in front of cameras.

The setting for his final broadcast won’t be a college football national title game, a Rose Bowl game, or even a primetime SEC football matchup alongside partner and analyst Jesse Palmer.

No, Musburger will go out with little fanfare and no farewell tour in a regular season basketball game between Georgia and Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

And there could be no more fitting place for a man who has been welcomed into the living rooms of America for so many different sports, because Rupp was the place where Musburger made one of his most memorable calls – Villanova’s unlikely NCAA Tournament championship upset over heavily favored Georgetown in 1985.

“Brent made every event feel larger,” Stephanie Druley, ESPN senior vice president for events and studio production told Fox Sports. “To me, there is probably not a greater storyteller as a play-by-play person. He can spin a yarn like nobody else and it made games definitely more enjoyable to watch.”

Like any broadcaster, Musburger has been criticized for comments made during broadcasts, or for perceived favoritism towards one team (or conference). The 77-year old Musburger was never an apologetic figure, even as recently as this past year’s Sugar Bowl when he came under fire for making supportive comments about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon.

To Musburger, it was never about politics or public relations. He wanted to connect with fans.

“Not everyone approved of everything I said,” he said via ESPN. “I understand that. I come from a sportswriting background and I’m not afraid to take a position on certain things from time to time. But for the most part, I thought people should be coming to a game to escape for three hours and forget about what their individual problems are.”

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    • Musburger joins a growing group of longtime broadcasters who are retiring (or semi-retiring) over this past year, including CBS Sports broadcaster Verne Lundquist and ESPN’s Chris Berman.

    While he won’t be calling games or hosting television shows any longer, Musburger – who graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism – will still be immersed in sports as part of his retirement, with plans to help his family start a sports handicapping business (it’s often been questioned by fans how much Brent had riding on a particular game, as the point spreads were always of interest to him).

    It seems odd to think of sports without Musburger’s voice finding its way through our speakers at some point. From his coverage of the NFL, NBA, tennis, golf and of course, college sports, Musburger has been one of the resonating sounds of sports for nearly five decades.

    Per ESPN – Brent Musburger’s résumé includes play-by-play or hosting responsibilities for the Super Bowl, college football title games, Final Four, Masters, Rose Bowl, Little League World Series, FIFA World Cup, Indy 500, NBA Finals, MLB playoffs and the US Open. (Musburger’s career timeline can be seen here)

    With his work on ESPN and the SEC Network, Brent has become synonymous with the SEC in recent years, and with both he and Lundquist leaving the airwaves, the conference broadcasts will indeed feel a bit empty. To see him go out as part of an SEC event in an arena as storied and revered as Rupp will make a very fitting end to a stellar career.

    Next: Best In-Conference SEC Rivalries

    “What a wonderful journey I have traveled with CBS and the Disney company,” Musburger said in a statement. “A love of sports allows me to live a life of endless pleasure. And make no mistake, I will miss the arenas and stadiums dearly. Most of all, I will miss the folks I have met along the trail.”

    We will miss you too Brent…we will miss you too.

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