Jim Nantz will be the keynote speaker at the 2014 NCAA Convention Keynote Luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in San Diego, Calif.
A former golf-student athlete at the University of Houston, Nantz has a deep appreciation for collegiate athletics and the opportunities it provides for student-athletes to earn a degree while playing sports. He will speak at the Keynote Luncheon about his experiences as a student-athlete, the importance of collegiate athletics, and the responsibility of the NCAA and its member schools to make decisions that continue to provide opportunities to student-athletes through both academics and athletics.
Tickets for the event will be available on a first-come, first-served basis when Convention delegates pick up their registration packets. A standby line will also be available for NCAA Convention delegates interested in attending on a space-available basis.
Nantz, a three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, joined the CBS Television Network in 1985. In addition to broadcasting golf and the NFL for CBS, he currently serves as the lead CBS play-by-play announcer for college basketball. Nantz has called the play-by-play on more network broadcasts of the Final Four and Championship game than any other announcer in the tournament's history. This year marks Nantz's 28th year covering the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and Final Four, and for the past 23 years he has also served as host of the Men’s Final Four Salute event. In 2007 and 2010, 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 recently repeated this trifecta in 2013.
Association Lunch Program to feature First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble
University of Wisconsin, Madison’s First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble will perform Jan. 16 at the 2014 NCAA Convention Association Lunch, which will also include the announcement of the 2014 Award for Diversity and Inclusion winner.
The First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble is a groundbreaking collective of spoken word poets, emcees, dancers, musicians, actors, and hip hop artists attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The ensemble is the performance company of the First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community, founded by the university’s Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives.
The Touring Ensemble is a select group of First Wave students, chosen by audition, to tour and perform nationally and internationally. First Wave is an emerging leader on the hip-hop theater scene, pushing the boundaries of contemporary performance with spoken word, poetry, dance, and theater.
Under the artistic direction of Chris Walker since its formation in 2007, First Wave has performed in England, Mexico, Panama, Australia, Africa and Jamaica as well as across the USA including annual featured performances in NYC.