National Football Foundation

Lindsey Nelson was the voice of college football for 33 years. Not only did he cover college football, but college and professional baseball, professional football, and other sports on television and radio. When people turned on a sports event, they expected to hear the lively voice of Nelson. He was voice of Notre Dame football for 14 seasons, in addition to covering 26 Cotton Bowls, five Sugar Bowls, four Rose Bowls, four Gator Bowls, five Sun Bowls, eight Liberty Bowls and eight Senior Bowls.

Nelson began his career at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. Lindsey was an English tutor for the Tennessee student athletes and a spotter in the broadcast booth on Saturday football games. During World War II, Lindsey served as a captain in the Ninth Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He served with distinction in North Africa, Sicily and Europe. After the war, Nelson’s popularity skyrocketed. In 1987, Nelson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his retirement, Nelson returned to Tennessee as an Adjunct Professor of Broadcasting in the College of Communications. Nelson passed away on June 10, 1995, of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 76.