Sign of the Times: First-Ever Spanish Language Announcing in March Madness

Westwood One and the NCAA will broadcast the 2017 NCAA® Men’s Final Four® in Spanish, the Championship’s first-ever Spanish language broadcast on any platform. This event will be produced by Westwood One in an alliance with ESPN Deportes Radio and presented by Werner Ladder.

“In our business we cater to a growing number of multilingual customers so this is a new way to make a connection with our brand and help bring the excitement of the NCAA Basketball® Championships to an even broader audience,” said Chris Filardi, Vice President of Marketing at WernerCo. “We are honored to be part of the team bringing this broadcast to a Spanish-speaking audience.”

Westwood One is the exclusive national audio partner of the NCAA®.

The trio of Rafael Hernández Brito (play-by-play), Greivis Vásquez (analyst), and Clemson Smith Muñiz (pregame/halftime host) will announce all the action for the Spanish-language Final Four® and the National Championship.

Veteran broadcaster Rafael Hernández Brito, known as Rafa "El Alcalde", is the Spanish play-by-play voice for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to joining the Cavs, he was the Spanish voice of the Brooklyn Nets for two seasons and has also called St. John’s college basketball. His national broadcast experience includes eight years as the voice of the NFL en Español for Univision and he has called 11 Super Bowls. He has also done Spanish play-by-play for the Miami Dolphins, as well as for Major League Baseball, boxing, and UFC. With the 2015 NBA Finals, he became the first broadcaster in the United States to call the Finals of all three major sports in Spanish.

Greivis Vásquez is one of the most successful Hispanic basketball players ever to wear a uniform. Greivis, a native of Venezuela, was a former All-American point guard at University of Maryland, where he led the Terrapins to three NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior, he was named ACC Player of the year, and the winner of the Bob Cousy award, given annually to the best collegiate point guard in the nation. He was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2010 and has played for six teams in his seven years in the league. Greivis has also played for the Venezuelan National Team, and led the squad to the 2014 FIBA South American Championship. In 2012, he was honored as a “Champion of Change” at the White House for his efforts as a sports diplomat in the United States and his native Venezuela.

Clemson Smith Muñiz, founder and president of Smith Muñiz Productions, is a pioneer in Spanish-language sports media and is currently the Spanish radio voice of the New York Jets as well as MLB Network's SAP broadcasts. Starting in 1994, Smith Muñiz helped revive Spanish-language sports radio in New York City and introduced Spanish-language SAP to local and national broadcasts, including Monday Night Football. He helped launch the first Spanish-language broadcasts of the Knicks, St. John's University basketball, and Army football on radio, and of the Yankees and Mets on local Hispanic and cable TV. Clemson also did the NFL en Español for Westwood One from 2003-2005.

Westwood One Sports will present full play-by-play Spanish action from the NCAA® Men’s Final Four® on Saturday, April 1, and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 3, live from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Coverage can be heard on more than 40 ESPN Deportes Radio stations nationwide, WestwoodOneSports.com, and SiriusXM radio. Additionally, the broadcasts will be available for fans on mobile devices via NCAA.com/MarchMadness, TuneIn and on the free TuneIn app.    

NCAA, First Four, Final Four, and Selection Sunday are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.