We've lost a lot of icons of Iowa athletics in recent years. Hayden Fry. Bump Elliott. Dr. Christine Grant. Unfortunately, we added another to the list this week, with the passing of Mac McCausland. McCausland, a former Iowa player, booster, and announcer, passed away of natural causes on February 5 at the age of 75 in his home of Las Vegas, NV.
Mac McCausland Passes Away: https://t.co/DZ5cLimfjP
— Iowa Mens Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 7, 2022
Our deepest condolences are with the McCausland family. Not only was Mac a fixture at our games for many decades, but Mac was at our practices and traveled to games. - Head Coach Fran McCaffery pic.twitter.com/mEEKtnxqZf
For the last 50+ years, McCausland has been inextricably linked with Iowa sports, first as a player for Ralph Miller's men's basketball teams in the late '60s, then as an active and long-serving member of the National I-Club, and also as a broadcaster. If you grew up watching (or listening to) Iowa basketball in the '80s and '90s, then Mac McCausland's voice (along with his longtime partner Larry Morgan) is the soundtrack to those highlights in your memories. Morgan was the play-by-play announcer and McCausland was the color commentator on those broadcasts, which spanned several years and hundreds of Iowa games. Perhaps the most enduring memory of McCausland's Iowa broadcasts was his famous "it's chips and salsa time" saying, his way of saying that Iowa had the game under control and victory was assured. He would have loved Iowa's win over Maryland on Thursday, which was "chips and salsa time" for basically the entire second half.
Chips & Salsa, Mac.
— Jordan Bohannon (@JordanBo_3) February 11, 2022
Mac McCausland is also well-known for being the father of Kent McCausland, a four-year player and letterwinner on Dr. Tom Davis' Iowa teams in the '90s. The elder McCausland called the younger McCausland's games frequently and had a front-row seat to his son becoming one of the best 3-point shooters in program history (especially in 1996-97, when he led the NCAA in 3-point shooting, at 52%). Kent McCausland's final season, 1998-99, ended up also being the final season for Tom Davis as head coach and Mac McCausland as a regular TV broadcaster for Iowa games; it was also the last time Iowa made it into the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Although he stopped being a part of Iowa's regular broadcast crew after changes at ESPN Regional and with the rise of the Big Ten Network a few years later, he still called the odd game here and there over the years, particularly in non-conference play. And he stayed involved in Iowa sports via his column in the Voice of the Hawkeyes newsletter, which he wrote for decades -- or, rather, dictated for decades, with some helpful transcription assistance to get it into print.
Mac's column appeared in every issue of VOTH's history (the only byline to hold that distinction) and was submitted in this same manner until sometime in the mid-to-late 2000s when he began having someone at his office fax them (later they were scanned & e-mailed). https://t.co/ddV77Wtllv
— Todd Brommelkamp (@ToddBrommelkamp) February 8, 2022
Over the years, lots of players came and went for Iowa basketball. Several coaches did as well. The faces and voices calling the games changed over time as well. But there was one constant for Iowa men's basketball: Mac McCausland, a fixture in and round Iowa hoops for over five decades. Our thoughts go out to Mac's friends and colleagues and the McCausland family.
Rest in peace, Mac.
