Jim Nantz: College Vs. Pro Mindset, Northwestern's Atmosphere, Calling Fred

TPG: Did they hang out with Freddy [Couples] too?
NANTZ: Freddy wanted to know all the scoops. Thanks for asking, Jeff. Because he was a star golfer. The guys would come back and they thought I was such a big shot because I was hanging around the basketball team all the time and they were good. Of course, Freddy left after his junior year, so he would have left in the spring of 1980. His first couple years when we were in school, the team was just over .500.

Nantz played on the Houston Cougars golf team, rooming with future PGA Tour pros Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister.

How did you call Freddy objectively in golf?
NANTZ: It was hard. I’m not sure I did. But the sweetest moment of my career was being there for part of the presentation of the green jacket – April 12, 1992 – coming up on 25 years.