James Brown and Verne Lundquist to Appear on Stage in Austin

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James Brown, also known with great affection as “JB,” the host of The NFL Today on CBS, former host of Thursday Night Football on CBS and NFL Networks, will kick off a Headliners Foundation fundraiser honoring his longtime colleague Verne Lundquist Feb. 26.

JB and Verne will reflect on their storied careers as national broadcasters and discuss the future of sports and media.   

“Verne has been an amazing role model for many decades to those of us in the industry,” said Brown.  “I’m thrilled to celebrate his career and to be part of an effort to assure that future sports journalists benefit from his remarkable legacy of integrity, professionalism, and expert story telling.” 

Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner who also hosts Inside the NFL on Showtime.  He has hosted eight Super Bowl telecasts and is a CBS News Special Correspondent contributing across all News platforms including 60 Minutes, The Evening News and CBS This Morning.   

“It is a true honor to have JB supporting our effort,” Lundquist said.  “He is the very best in sports broadcasting and my dear friend.  We share a commitment to talented students and giving them a path to successful careers in the growing sports media industry.”

Lundquist has been at the center of covering major sporting events from more than 50 years.   He began his career at KTBC-TV in Austin, then owned by Lady Bird and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In addition he manned the announcer’s booth at ABC Sports, CBS Sports, and Turner Sports. He was the long-time voice of the Dallas Cowboys for more than a decade.

Lundquist joined CBS Sports in 1982 and broadcast more than 20 sports for the network including national and international coverage of football, basketball, Olympic figure skating, and golf.   He retired from covering SEC football in 2016 and continues to cover the Master’s and other golf tournaments for the network. Lundquist’s book Play by Play was published in October by HarperCollins.

 Proceeds of the first annual Friends of Verne event will support the Verne Lundquist Sports Media Institute. The Institute will provide financial and learning resources for college and high school students.  It will be administered by the Headliners Foundation, which has promoted excellence in Texas journalism for more than 35 years.

 “We want to expose Texas students to the high standards of journalism that Verne epitomizes and to help them experience the excitement of reporting and storytelling,” said Mark Morrison, chair of the Foundation.  “We are especially pleased to be working closely with the University of Texas Moody College of Communication and their Center for Sports Communication and Media to provide resources that will complement their major commitment to sports journalism and sports media education-and to be a catalyst for sports journalism education statewide.”

Tickets to the dinner at Austin’s Headliners Club will be available to the public starting Jan. 22nd.  

For tickets or sponsor opportunities click here.