Loras College president remembers sports broadcasting legend, friend Greg Gumbel

DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Loras College is making plans to honor broadcasting legend and alumni Greg Gumbel.

The long-time sportscaster, best known for his work at CBS Sports, died of cancer last Friday at the age of 78.

Gumbel graduated from Loras College with a degree in English in 1967.

“He’s the type of person that when you engage with him, whether informally or formally, you really feel as if you’re the only person in the room,” said Loras College President Jim Collins.

Collins said he first met Gumbel as director of alumni relations in the 1980s.

“He’s probably one of the most down-to-earth and humble likable people that I’ve ever met,” recalled Gumbel.

Gumbel stood as an example of what it means to be a Loras student, said Collins.

“He was a hard worker, strong in his diligence, and that’s what we want people to do. You don’t want to go through life with a pass and just fall into things, you really want to work hard at it. He did that,” explained Collins. “He was the consummate professional, always handled and conducted himself well, and he always did it ethically.”

Collins shared memories of Gumble making time out of his busy schedule to see his friends.

“Homecoming always fell on a weekend where there was a game that he had to broadcast. He would often come back on the Friday night of homecoming, just so that he could be with his classmates back at Loras, and then got on a red-eye so that he could be back to wherever he was going to be broadcasting the game,” said Collins.

Despite the pair’s schedule growing busier, Collins said they stayed in touch every month. That included nearly a year ago when Gumbel shared his cancer diagnosis with Collins and canceled plans to visit Loras.

“Knowing that he had to put 100% effort into you know battling his own cancer, that he wasn’t going to be able to [visit], and he didn’t want me to find out by surprise or anything like that,” remembered Collins. “He never expressed the struggle he was going through, but expressed how sad he was as he was talking to classmates about how they were encountering and enduring their own health challenges. He would name them by name. It was just another reminder of how much he cared for others and put them in front of his own concerns.”

Collins says he’ll miss Gumbel’s encouragement the most.

“I probably took for granted how important it was to regularly hear his voice receive his advice to receive his counsel or support. I think is the days and the weeks and the months go on, that’ll be a hard thing to forget,” said Collins.

TV9 interviewed Gumbel in 2021.

He credited Loras College for helping start his decades-long broadcasting career.

“I learned an awful lot about myself at Loras. I discovered I had something of a personality. I discovered I had a sense of humor. I learned how to interact with other people,” said Gumbel.

Collins didn’t disclose the college’s plans to honor Gumbel but will share more with the support of the legendary sportscaster’s family when the time is right.

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