Ross-Ade Stadium paused at halftime Saturday to salute one of its own. Former Purdue quarterback and longtime broadcaster Gary Danielson was honored during the Boilermakers’ Big Ten matchup with USC in a return to West Lafayette as the program celebrated both his playing career and his distinguished run in the CBS Sports broadcast booth.
Danielson, 74, who announced in March that he will retire following the 2025 college football season, received a warm ovation from Purdue fans. A member of the school’s famed “Cradle of Quarterbacks,” Danielson led the Big Ten in passing offense in 1971 with 1,467 yards. That season, he was responsible for six of the league’s longest plays and set a Big Ten record for passing accuracy in conference games at 61.7%.
After a decade in the NFL, Danielson made his mark in broadcasting. He was hired as CBS Sports’ lead college football analyst in 2006 after stints at ESPN and ABC Sports and became a central figure at CBS alongside Verne Lundquist and later Brad Nessler.
Now in his 20th season with CBS, he is the longest-tenured lead analyst in college football on any network.
Gary Danielson sets retirement as CBS Sports college football analyst; Charles Davis to take over in 2026
Shehan Jeyarajah
With CBS in its second year of carrying Big Ten games in the 3:30 p.m. ET window, Danielson’s career has come full circle. He began as a Boilermaker under center more than 50 years ago, and he will finish his career calling the conference where it all started.
When he does step aside after the 2025 season, CBS has already announced his successor: veteran broadcaster Charles Davis. Davis, who currently serves as one of the network’s top NFL analysts and is also known as the voice of the “Madden NFL” video game series, will move into the role beginning in 2026 alongside Brad Nessler and Jenny Dell.
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