One of the most recognizable voices in college sports history, Brent Musburger is set to call his final game on ESPN on Tuesday night. The legendary broadcaster is in Lexington, Kentucky, ready to work the Wildcats' matchup against Georgia at Rupp Arena, a place Musburger said is a "wonderful" place to end his career. Tipoff between the Wildcats and Bulldogs is set for 9 p.m.
Ohio State played Maryland on ESPN right before Musburger's final call and joined commentators Dave Flemming and Dan Dakich by telephone in an effort to build up interest. A more than 40-year broadcasting veteran and a graduate of Northwestern University, Musburger has plenty of ties to the Big Ten and an even longer list of memories that involve Ohio State.
Dakich and Flemming asked Musburger if there were any teams that stood out to him over his career. One is the 1959-60 Ohio State men's basketball squad that won the national championship.
“Goes way back when I was a student at Northwestern. The Wildcats would have made the NCAA Tournament but at that time only one team per conference was invited into the tournament. And over in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State and all you Buckeye fans [will] remember this. Greg Sherry and Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Bob Knight, Mel Nowell — nobody was beating them in the Big Ten.
“So right now we’re coming down the stretch and Northwestern (who is 18-4) has a chance to make the tournament for the first time ever. A really nice, confident group for Chris Collins.
“But I’ll tell you what — the greatest team I ever saw when I was at Northwestern was that Buckeye team, man. They were loaded!
Musburger has also called countless Buckeye football games, mostly in primetime on ABC. His 'Holy Buckeye' call during the 2002 Ohio State-Purdue game in West Lafayette lives in infamy after Craig Krenzel hit Michael Jenkins for a touchdown on 4-and-1 with under 2 minutes remaining to lead the Buckeyes to a 10-6 victory.
ESPN showed a clip of that play so naturally, Dakich and Flemming asked about that next.
“One of the SIDs here at Kentucky came up to me and said privately, he said I’m really an Ohio State fan. I have a job here at Kentucky but my favorite call of yours of all time was ‘Holy Buckeye!’ That was a great football game.
“Drew Brees, coached by Joe Tiller, the shot it out and the Buckeyes prevailed in the end. Certainly a day that I remember. Love the Big Ten. Did the basketball for a while. Love the football, with the Buckeyes. Listen: The Ohio State-Michigan game stands out still as the great rivalry for me and I called so many of them through the years.
Obviously, Musburger dropped the ball slightly on his comment about Drew Brees. The former Purdue quarterback and current New Orleans Saint did play for Joe Tiller but was knee-deep in his second professional season at the time of that game.
In any event, the call will be synonymous with Musburger forever and Ohio State fans won't be quick to forget it. If you want something to commemorate the moment, head over to the Dry Good Store and get yourself a slick King Right 64 Y Shallow Tee.
