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Saturday’s won’t sound the same on CBS as legendary broadcaster, Verne Lundquist called his final college football at age of 76. For the last 16 years Lundquist was the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports and SEC covered games. Every football fan in the SEC knows Verne’s voice.
Lundquist has broadcast more than 20 different sports for CBS and last May he received the Sports Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement. His first SEC game was in Knoxville in 2000, a game he still remembers ending on a controversial touchdown catch in the final seconds as the Gators beat the Vols 27-23. Verne still agrees that the Vols were robbed. “Many Tennessee fans don’t believe the pass was completed. Having been there and seen it, I would tend to agree with Rocky Top on that one.”
His SEC sendoff was emotional as each school had some form of thank you, Verne message. From custom jerseys to Georgia’s band spelling out “YES SIR” on the field, every SEC school acknowledged and thanked Verne for being the voice of the SEC.
Lundquist said “It has been much more emotional and more sentimental than I had envisioned. I thought I was prepared for it, but once the tributes started it overwhelmed me. I look around and think ‘Gosh. This may be the last time we do this here. You have invested so much of your professional life in this one conference and there is a bond with each school. Each stadium carries special memories for me.”
Verne has called hundreds of SEC football games. This year alone, Verne and the CBS sports crew spent a quarter of the season covering the University of Tennessee. Tennessee became the first program in history to appear on the SEC Game of the Week four straight times. While Verne was known for his phrases “WOW”, “Oh My Gosh” and “Yes Sir”. My favorite was on October 1, 2016 when the #11-ranked Vols played #25-ranked Georgia Bull Dogs. With four seconds left on the clock, Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs completed a Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Jauan Jennings. This happened after Georgia had just scored ten clock seconds before and giving the Bull Dogs the lead and what they thought was the win. Tennessee won 32-31.
“Dobbs heaves it. They’re bunched up in the end zone. It’s tipped up. It’s caught! It is caught! Jauan Jennings! Jauan Jennings!” -Verne
Longtime broadcast partner Gary Danielson said. We’ve done close to 200 games, and we talk to six or seven players and five or six coaches. That’s close to 1,000 people we’ve talked to. Of that 1,000, the guy would walk out of the room, and Verne would say, “What a great guy. I really liked that guy.” Or, “That kid really impressed me. He’s going to be great someday.” I think that says a lot about a person who sees the good in everybody. That comes across in the broadcast. People sense it with him.
Lundquist will continue to call some college basketball games and for the PGA on the CBS network. Brad Nessler will replace him in the football booth and work alongside analyst Gary Danielson. The Army vs. Navy game on December 10th was Verne’s final college football game. As emotional as Verne’s final send off was for him, it was more emotional to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osreZ19U-TQ
Thank you, Verne for making the SEC the greatest conference in college football.