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Mike Nail, Voice of Arkansas Basketball, Dies at 80

His voice defined Razorbacks basketball across nearly three decades, including the 1994 national title moment.

Overview

  • Arkansas’ men’s basketball program confirmed Nail’s death in a post on X on Sunday.
  • He called 906 games from the 1981–82 through 2009–10 seasons under Eddie Sutton, Nolan Richardson, Stan Heath and John Pelphrey.
  • He is best remembered for the radio call of Scotty Thurman’s late three-pointer in the 1994 NCAA Championship win over Duke.
  • Local reports said he had recently been in hospice care following cancer and died at home in Fayetteville.
  • Beyond basketball, he worked as a TV sports director at KPOM/KFAA and KHOG/KHBS, called Razorbacks football in 2006, broadcast Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers games and was inducted into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2022.