Biography of Verne Lundquist

Verne Lundquist is a prominent American sportscaster who has worked on many networks during his life. Verne is currently the primary play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports’ coverage of college football. He is also the network’s coverage of NCAA basketball, which includes the NCAA Men’s Division Basketball Championship. Lundquist has also won several awards for his commentary, including being inducted into the National Sportswriters and Journalists Association Hall of Fame. Verne also does commentary for the Masters and PGA Championship among various other PGA TOUR events.

Early life and education of Verne Lundquist

Verne Lundquist was born Merton Laverne ‘Verne’ Lundquist Jr. on July 17 ^, 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. There is no information about his parents and siblings. Verne joined from Austin High School based in Austin, Texas. After graduating from Austin, Verne attended Texas Lutheran University . He is American based on his nationality and as far as his ethnicity is concerned, he is a white American.

He was one of the founding members of the Omega Tau Fraternity which was founded in Texas in 1958. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Regents at his alma mater. He graduated from Texas Lutheran University in 1962. Verne was very interested in becoming a broadcaster and began his career as a sportscaster for Dallas-based WFAA shortly after his graduation.

Verne Lundquist’s career

After working at the WFAA for a few years, Verne started working for KTBC in Austin and also became the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys. In 1967 Verne joined the Cowboys Radio Network. He worked with the Cowboys Radio Network until 1984. Verne managed to capture his second NFL title in Super Bowl XII with his teammate Brad Sham. Nationally, Lundquist worked for ABC Sports in 1974, leaving in 1981.

He later moved to CBS in 1982. He worked at CBS until 1995 and then moved to TNT cable which he left in 1997. Then again in 1998 Verne went back to work for CBS. While at station ABC, Verne was a commentator on the sports show titled Bowling for Dollars in Dallas, which aired weekday nights on WFAA-TV from 6:30-7:00 in North Central Texas. In all 4 seasons, he interviewed Cowboys players and their first head coach, Tom Landry. Verne currently works as a play-by-play commentator for CBS college football and also college basketball, which includes the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

He also plays play-by-play for PGA Tour golf, which includes the Masters tournament and the PGA championship. Verne has been actively playing the voice of NFL games for CBS, NBA games for the CBS network, and TNT’s TNT and Sunday Night Football broadcasts. In the 2006-2008 Seattle Seahawks preseason games, Verne also called play-by-play on television, as his commentary is loved by everyone. Especially Verne’s patented laugh and his enthusiasm for the events he covers make the man one of the most famous personalities on network television.

Verne was also the host of figure skating events in 1992, 1994 and 1998 when the rights to the Winter Olympics were held by the CBS and TNT networks. On ABC’s Pro Bowlers Tour in 1978, when Chris Schenkel was unable to appear due to some problem, Verne became the understudy and appeared in Grand Prairie, Texas. Verne has twice done TNT’s coverage of the PGA Championship in 2006.

Verne Lundquist appeared as himself in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore, where he was seen commenting on golf games. He was also a play-by-play announcer on the video game titled NBA Live ’98. He is also the announcer for the video game College Hoops 2K8. One of Verne’s most famous lines is ‘How, you do it!’ that he uses in a big offensive or defensive play. He acquired this phrase from USC football announcer Pete Arbogast.

The video below shows famed sportscaster Verne Lundquist saying goodbye as a college football commentator for the last time.

His other famous comments are ‘Oh my God!’ and ‘Oh My Goodness’ which have been well imitated at times. Verne was named Texas Sportscaster of the Year from 1977 to 1983 by the National Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association during Verne’s time in Dallas. He was inducted into the Sun Bowl Hall of Fame in 2007. He was inducted into the Sun Bowl Hall of Fame in the 2005 Sun Bowl. Verne delivered the commencement address at Hampden-Sydney College in May 2012.

Verne Lundquist Net Worth

According to some reliable source, Verne Lundquist net worth is estimated to be around $1.5 million as of 2019. He is one of the most promising sports announcers. Lundquist earned exquisite net worth from his long career at CBS and other television networks.

Personal life and marriage of Verne Lundquist

Verne Lundquist, affectionately known as ‘The Golden Throat’, is 74 years old and although his net worth is not revealed much, looking at his undefeated career, he certainly earns a huge salary. Verne has been married three times to date, beginning in 1967 with Patricia. The couple finally divorced in 1971. He married his second wife. Kathy Vernon the next year of the first divorce from him.

After 8 years of marriage to Kathy, Verne divorced. Then in 1982, he married Bette Lorraine Higgins and has a son named Vaughan Matthew Lundquist with her. Verne is an active on-air personality who lives happily with his wife and children in Colorado.