Longtime Nebraska play-by-play announcer Kent Pavelka will retire following 2026-2027 season

One of the most legendary voices of Nebraska men's basketball and football is hanging up the headset.

Longtime play-by-play announcer Kent Pavelka, who began calling Cornhusker games in 1974, announced Monday evening on Huskers Radio Network that he will retire after the 2026-27 season, per the Daily Nebraskan .

"It's time," Pavelka said on the radio show. "It takes just about everything deep in my soul to share that. There comes a time, a lot of friends and family know.

"What I intend to do is enjoy this last go-around and savor it. As we make our way around the country, I'll be smiling inside and celebrating inside all the memories. We're gonna focus on this basketball team and its quest. Here's what I'm dreaming of: that they get into the third week of March this year, when all is said and done.

"The point is, I never wanted to do anything else — just this. What we're going to do now is focus on this game tonight and these Huskers and the story they create over the next four or five months."

Pavelka's Husker radio career began at KFAB, where he did football color commentary from 1974 through 1983 before becoming the play-by-play voice from 1984 through 1996. He also became the play-by-play announcer for Nebraska men's basketball in 1974 and initially held that role until 1996. He returned in 2006 to call men's basketball, a role he still enjoys today . Pavelka was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2019.

"We look forward to properly saluting Kent later this season in honor of his lifetime of passion passed through the airwaves to generations of Husker faithful," wrote Nebraska AD Troy Dannen on X .