Although Jon Rothstein has established himself as a consistent television presence on college basketball broadcasts for countless iterations of March Madness, scores of fans keep up with him throughout the year on social media with posts emphasizing the enthralling drama and emotional changes associated with the NCAA tournament. Over the years, Rothstein has devised a cavalcade of catchphrases disseminated on social media that have been compiled into digital guides, printed on merchandise sold to benefit charity and embedded within basketball vernacular.
Early in his tenure covering the tournament, he recognized that the University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s basketball team had never finished lower than fourth place in the Big Ten Conference standings under the direction of head coach Bo Ryan. Upon discerning this invariable proclivity, he declared to his audience that three constants in life are “death, taxes and Bo Ryan,” starting a tradition that imparts distinctive panache and tangible passion for the sport.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute, there might be something there,’ and, ‘This is March,’ [and], ‘We sleep in May,’ are, again, just other things that have come to the forefront that have resonated that I have used on social media,” Rothstein explained. “I don’t force taglines, but it’s something, again, that I know you can’t force but you’re always kind of thinking about.”
Rothstein has positioned himself as an expert who exhibits an indefatigable work ethic and invaluable flexibility as a multiplatform personality. Although some consumers may view his dispatches as outlandish or hyperbolic, the conjectural assumption itself is an utter fallacy. Rather than adopting an embellished persona, Rothstein portrays his authentic demeanor with the audience and offers his genuine insights and emotions for all.
“I’m the same person on social media as I am on television or as I am in real life,” Rothstein explained. “There’s really not too much to distinguish, which I know a lot of people probably don’t believe, but it’s the utmost truth. The things that are happening in real life I just translate to social media, so there’s not much of a change in the two.”
With encyclopedic knowledge and unparalleled proficiency of the sport, Rothstein leverages his knowledge to enhance the overall game presentations and represent CBS Sports in a positive light. As a college basketball insider, he is constantly working the phones and staying in touch with industry sources to discover and convey the latest news and information.
“I think you learn as you go through this more and more that you have to be accurate and you have to be tight with your reporting,” Rothstein explained, “and the only constant I have this time of year that’s going to be consistent is you know you’re going to get a lot of inaccurate information across your desk, and you have to be able to decipher what’s real and what’s not, so you have to get as strong of a source as you can before you report something of that magnitude.”
With the start of March Madness fast approaching, Rothstein is transfixed on the unrelenting cadence of the tournament and caught amid an incessant work schedule replete with prodigious responsibility. Yet he does not loathe the occurrence, instead craving the chance to grind and excavate hidden storylines and developments on social media and television.
“I would say if there’s news stories, injuries, coaching changes, things like that that I’m following up on, you want to obviously start early in the morning, but if I’m on the air during the NCAA Tournament, there is nothing else I will do or entertain during that time,” Rothstein said. “It is all about the broadcast, the broadcast, the broadcast. Nothing is ever more important than a broadcast when you’re on the air.”
With the NCAA Tournament on the precipice of tipping off, the sports media world is remembering the life and legacy of award-winning broadcaster Greg Gumbel, who passed away last December after a battle with cancer. Gumbel covered the tournament for CBS Sports starting in 1998 and was a beloved presence among his colleagues and sports fans around the country.
“Greg is an icon in the sports broadcasting field, and he is a person who was so warm, who was so welcoming,” Rothstein said. “And I guess the best way I could describe Greg Gumbel, who I miss and everybody misses, especially this time of year, is he could do anything on the air – any sport, any task, any assignment – and make it look beyond easy, but he also, off the air, was as welcoming as any person you would ever meet in your life. Greg took his work incredibly seriously, but he never took himself that seriously.”
CBS Sports broadcasts the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament under an agreement with TNT Sports, a joint project first established between the two divisions in April 2010. The entities currently share the rights through 2032 under an eight-year extension reportedly worth $8.8 billion, which was negotiated under CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus. Following the conclusion of The Masters last April, McManus retired from the company after 27 years and led to the promotion of David Berson to president and chief executive officer of CBS Sports.
“There’s no better boss than David Berson,” Rothstein said. “Sean McManus leaves a legacy and obviously is another icon in the sports broadcasting business, but there’s no better leader than David Berson. He’s somebody – you can quote me on this – I’d take a bullet in the shoulder for.”
The respective sports divisions are said to be paying $995 million for rights to March Madness this year, and as price escalators are reportedly set to take effect within the agreement, there have been conversations surrounding potential tournament expansion. While Rothstein hopes the partnership between the Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery divisions will continue for years to come, he is vehemently against this hypothetical alteration.
“I don’t want to hear about NCAA Tournament expansion,” Rothstein articulated. “Jeff Goldblum said in the film ‘The Lost World’ in 1997 that, ‘Taking dinosaurs off this island was the worst ideas in the long, sad history of bad ideas.’ This would usurp it.”
The conference tournaments that occur leading up to March Madness have significant implications and have a plethora of dramatic moments. This past weekend alone, both Big Ten Conference semifinal games came down to the final minute, and there were various upsets that altered bracket projections, especially in one-bid leagues. Part of the rationale behind Rothstein’s disdain towards potential expansion relates to how it would affect certain games ahead of these competitions.
“I think what would happen [is] we would see the regular season devalued, especially the last month of the season,” Rothstein explained. “One of the biggest things starting February 1 that brings everybody in for college basketball is people being interested in following the bubble. If we extend the NCAA Tournament to include more teams, part of that’s going to be gone.”
For the first week of the tournament, Rothstein is going to be on the road delivering sideline reports from the First Four in Dayton, Ohio and will be on the broadcasts from another region thereafter. Working in the multifarious position over the last several years, he has been afforded the chance to distinguish himself by attending practices, speaking with personnel and traveling the country. Rothstein has built an expansive network and fulfills his role with aplomb amid millions of consumers being invested in the exhilarating high-stakes play.
“My perspective is much different than other people who are just kind of giving news and then throwing it back to a host,” Rothstein said. “In certain transactional sports where there’s free agency in Major League Baseball or there’s other things, I think it’s a little bit different. In college basketball, because there’s so many storylines, there is, I think, a closer gap between the person who is the information person and the player or the coach.”
Appearing on college basketball coverage distributed to various verticals, Rothstein has received assistance in being able to separate his tasks and come through for the audience. Through experience on the job, Rothstein has become acclimatized to the entropic nature of the month and always remains ready to pivot to the latest developments, showcasing his versatility amid a vortex of blithesome mayhem.
“It’s massively important because you have to be comfortable doing sidelines for a game as a reporter and asking key questions,” Rothstein said. “You have to be able to do interviews, you have to be able to be comfortable in the studio show, you have to be able to be comfortable doing a podcast. This is media in 2025, and it’s media that obviously is always forcing us to adapt, and you better be nimble if you want to survive in this climate.”
After graduating from Ithaca College in 2004, Rothstein started forging connections in the business upon winning a “Dream Job” contest through which he reported for ESPN New York. Shortly thereafter, he purchased air time on a New Rochelle radio station to host a weekly midday sports talk show and compiled a reel. Although Rothstein eventually started working in television, he has always maintained a passion for audio and started the College Hoops Today podcast for Compass Media Networks.
“The media world is changing, and while I had this podcast home, I knew that at some point, getting into the video space for podcasts would be a move that eventually had to be made, especially with the following that I have on social media,” Rothstein said. “So it was something in the latter part of last year [where] my bosses at CBS granted my attention [and asked if] I [would] be willing to bring this over as part of my portfolio.”
Rothstein recently started a new podcast with CBS Sports where he provides insider information, expert analysis and game selections for all upcoming college basketball matchups. As the new project moves forward with new episodes throughout March Madness, he will look to keep the sport at the proverbial center of the conversation.
“Each day is its own separate opportunity to get better, and I owe it to myself, I owe it to my bosses who have given me all these great opportunities, and you owe it, I think, to your family as well to make sure that your reputation and everything you’ve worked so hard to build maintains at a high level,” Rothstein said. “And just because you’re getting certain assignments that are obviously of major cache, it doesn’t mean you can’t keep getting better.”
Citing an outlook proffered by businessman Max De Pree, Rothstein is consistently working to improve himself because he will be unable to become what he needs to be by remaining stagnant. Rather than sinking into a unyielding state of inertia, he remains ambitious and wants to keep expanding his role while not losing sight of the opportunities he currently holds. As the victorious team cuts down the nets, Rothstein will embrace the moment while remaining cognizant of his obligations and how to best serve CBS Sports.
“My philosophy is to make the next task the most important task and then keep on trying to be in a situation where you’re knocking tasks out the best you can do because here’s the thing,” Rothstein construed. “If you’re looking at a pothole a half a mile down the road, you’re going to miss the road that’s being traveled in front of you. I’m not living my life that way, and I never intend to.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
