Longtime CBS Sports director to retire Monday after 47 years, 31 NCAA tournaments

April 1 (UPI) -- You may not know about broadcast director Robert Fishman, but you have almost certainly seen some of his work over the past half-century -- which involves some of the most memorable sports moments in television history.

And it will soon come to an end, as Fishman is retiring after the NCAA basketball tournament Final Four and national championship game on Monday.

Fishman has been a giant for 50 years at CBS, which include stints in both the news and sports divisions. He's won 16 Emmy Awards, called the shots during 27 U.S. Open tennis championships and he's now directed 31 NCAA tournaments -- which have been staple events on CBS and more recently in a partnership with Turner Broadcasting.

"If there were a Mount Rushmore for sports directors, Bob Fishman would be front and center," CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said in a statement last year when Fishman announced that he'd leave after the 2022 Final Four. "He is one of the greatest directors in the history of sports television."

"Bob has set the standard across the industry and created a legacy that will last for generations," McManus added. "We thank him for all his outstanding contributions to CBS and wish him all the best in retirement."

Bob Fishman is seen in the CBS Sports control room, where he has directed sportscasts since 1975. He will retire from the network on Monday night following the NCAA men's tournament championship game. Photo courtesy CBS

Fishman has been in the director's chair during several of the most iconic sports moments on CBS -- including Michael Jordan's title-winning shot in the 1982 tournament, Tonya Harding's emotional breakdown over her broken laces at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway and North Carolina State coach Jimmy Valvano running around the court looking for someone to hug after his Cinderella Wolfpack stunned the heavily-favored Houston Cougars to win the 1983 NCAA title.

Other moments that occurred on Fishman's watch -- Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run in 1993, Kris Jenkins hitting the title-winning shot for Villanova in the 2016 tournament and Keith Smart's buzzer-beater at the 1987 Final Four to win the crown for Indiana.

Also, Fishman was behind a decision to put cameras inside stock cars at the Daytona 500 in 1982 -- and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2019.

The network said that while Fishman is retiring from directing sports, he plans to stay in film and television and work on various projects, including documentaries.

After Fishman hangs it up on Monday night, veteran CBS Sports director Mark Grant will succeed him as the network's lead director for college basketball. CBS veteran Suzanne Smith will be the director on the network's No. 2 broadcast team for NFL games. Smith began her TV career at CBS in 1983 and is the only woman who directs NFL games.