Carter Blackburn (born March 30, 1979) is an American sportscaster. He currently works for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

after leaving

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in 2014.

Early life and education

Blackburn was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and grew up in Kerrville, in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

near

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. Blackburn began his broadcasting career at

KERV KERV (1230 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station licensed to Kerrville, Texas, United States, and serving the Kerrville-Fredericksburg area. The station is currently owned by Jam Broadcasting, LLC. Previous logo References Translators K ...

/ KRVL radio during his sophomore year at Tivy High School. By his junior year in high school, he was sports director for the radio station, doing morning drive-time reports on area high school sports and Texas college and pro teams as well as providing

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

for radio and TV for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He then graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 2001 with a degree in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. At Syracuse, he served as play-by-play announcer for football, basketball and lacrosse broadcasts on

WAER-FM WAER (88.3 FM) is a radio station in Syracuse, New York. It is located on the campus of Syracuse University, and is a part of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The station features a jazz music and National Public Radio forma ...

Professional career

He worked for International Sports Properties (ISP) in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, and Fox Sports Net South from 2001 to 2003; among his assignments were games in what became the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. He joined

(then known as CSTV) in 2003 when the channel launched. Blackburn made his national broadcast television debut on CBS Sports with a Big Ten women's basketball game between Penn State and Michigan State in January, 2008. He later called two

2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2007� ...

games, working afternoon session games at the

Honda Center Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it w ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. He reprised that role in 2009 & 2016. In September 2009 he began broadcasting for ESPN and ESPNU. He provided play-by-play for TV broadcasts of NCAA football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, and lacrosse. In 2011, Blackburn broadcast the 2008 Reebok Grand Prix where Usain Bolt set a new world record in the 100 meters with a time of 9.71. In 2011 Blackburn provided play-by-play for the World Series of Softball tournament in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2012, he replaced Joe Tessitore for the Friday Night Football package for ESPN and ESPN2. He also called Little League Baseball games for ESPN. In August 2014, Blackburn was named by CBS as its lead play-by-play announcer for its

sports network Sports channels are television speciality channels (usually available exclusively through cable television, cable and Terrestrial television, terrestrial and satellite television, satellite) Broadcasting of sports events, broadcast sporting eve ...

. He also called college basketball, football, and baseball games. On December 27, 2014 Blackburn filled in for

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American former sportscaster known for his long career with CBS Sports. Early life Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before ...

during the 2014 Sun Bowl. Blackburn was a part of the CBS Sports team doing feature group coverage for the 2015 Masters golf tournament. He also calls NFL games for CBS on occasion, partnering with Chris Simms for 2015 and 2016. By age thirty-one, Blackburn had called the NFL on Fox, the NCAA basketball tournament on CBS, and college football on ABC. In 2008, at 26, Blackburn was the second-youngest announcer of an NCAA Tournament game, at least in CBS's run as the telecaster.

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

was the only one younger (26 years old in 1985).

Notable calls

Blackburn called then-Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s record setting 409th win for ABC, Paterno’s last game as coach of the Nittany Lions. *March 18, 2016: Blackburn was the play-by-play announcer for

Turner Sports TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for Sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max (streaming service), Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS (Americ ...

's coverage of the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

's first round match–up between the

Northern Iowa Panthers The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I (Division I FCS in football). History The school's mascot is the ...

and the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, where Panthers guard

Paul Jesperson Paul Jesperson (born December 2, 1992) is an American former basketball player who currently serves as the head of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Nort ...

hit a half court shot at the buzzer to upset the Longhorns 75–72 just seconds after

Isaiah Taylor Isaiah Shaquille Taylor (born July 11, 1994, in Hayward, California) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Dubai Basketball of the ABA League. He has previously played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ...

hit a running floater to tie the game at 72. *August 24, 2019: Blackburn was the play-by-play announcer for

college football coverage of the Week 0 match–up between the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

and

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes at ...

, where Khalil Tate was tackled by Hawaii defensive lineman Manly Williams and defensive back Kalen Hicks at the one yard line as time expired in an attempt to bring the game within one point pending the extra point.

Personal life

Blackburn lives in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

References

External links

Official biography by CBS Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Carter 1979 births Living people American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Baseball announcers Softball announcers College baseball announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers American golf commentators Lacrosse announcers NFL announcers Mass media people from Dallas S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni Women's college basketball announcers in the United States