bill raftery says the age attached to his name is wrong. The CBS Sports college basketball color commentator said in an interview that he is not actually 82 years old, and he never corrected the number people kept writing down.
“I don't think I'm any different from many, many years ago. I just feel very lucky that I'm still doing it... I've never said my age and people wrote it down and have it wrong. I've never corrected anybody, but it's actually comical. I've got a couple more on me. You're the first to ever hear that.”
Raftery and CBS since 1983
1983 is the start date that gives the disclosure its weight. Raftery has called college basketball games for CBS Sports since then, which means the age correction reaches one of the sport’s longest-running broadcast voices, not a passing studio figure.
1963 is the other anchor point in the record. Raftery graduated from La Salle University that year, and the article says he was likely born in 1941, which would make him 85 years old rather than 82. His birthday is April 19, the only thing the record says is known about his true age.
April 19 and the 1941 estimate
85 years old is the number that follows from that estimate. The gap between the listed age and the likely birth year matters because the number beside a broadcaster’s name becomes part of his public identity, especially for someone tied so closely to March Madness and the NCAA Tournament.
82 years old is the figure Raftery says is wrong, but he also says the mistake was allowed to stand because he never pushed back. That leaves the oddest part of the story intact: a veteran analyst who has spent decades on air, stayed active, and says he has no plans to retire anytime soon, still letting the wrong number follow him around.
