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Billy Packer, an Emmy Award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday. He was 82 years old.
Packer’s son, Mark, said his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had various medical problems, eventually succumbing to kidney failure.
Packer’s television career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as a color analyst or commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008.
Billy Packer (left), an Emmy Award-winning college basketball broadcaster, died Thursday
Packer’s son, Mark, said his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had various medical problems, eventually succumbing to kidney failure.
“He really enjoyed doing the Final Fours,” said Mark Packer.
He calculated it well. Everything in life is about time. The ability to get involved in something that, frankly, he was going to watch anyway, was a joy to him. And then college basketball just took off with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and that became, I think, the catalyst for college basketball fans going crazy for March Madness.
Packer played three seasons at Wake Forest and helped lead the Demon Deacons to the Final Four in 1962, but it was his work as an analyst that earned him the most praise.
Packer’s television career coincided with the growth of college basketball.
He joined NBC in 1974 and called his first Final Four in 1975. UCLA defeated Kentucky in that year’s final in what was John Wooden’s last game as manager.
Packer was also part of the announcer team in 1979 with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire as Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team defeated Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in the title game. That game remains the highest-rated game in basketball history with a Nielsen rating of 21.1, estimated at 35.1 million viewers.
Packer moved to CBS in the fall of 1981, when the network acquired the rights to the NCAA Tournament. He remained the network’s top analyst until the 2008 Final Four.
Tributes have long been paid to the Final Fours announcer following the sad news.
Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports, said Packer was “synonymous with college basketball for more than three decades and set the standard for excellence as the voice of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.”
“He had a tremendous impact on the growth and popularity of the sport.” McManus said.
Tributes have been paid to the Final Fours announcer for a long time after the sad news.
“In Billy’s way, he analyzed the game with his own unique style, perspective and opinions, but always kept his focus on the game. Despite his passion for basketball, Billy was a family man at heart. He leaves part of his legacy behind on CBS Sports, in college basketball, and most importantly, as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. We will all miss him deeply.
ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla wrote on Twitter: ‘Rest in peace Billy Packer. We fell in love with college basketball because of you. Your voice will stay in my head forever.
Fox Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb added: ‘Billy Packer. Easily the most influential broadcaster in my life…he told it just like he was, and he was unapologetic about his educated opinion. May he rest in peace.’
Packer was inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Packer was seen as a controversial figure during his broadcast days, often drawing the ire of college basketball fans, particularly on North Carolina’s “Tobacco Road.”
“Growing up, I was a huge NC State fan and I’d watch a game and the next day I’d be like, ‘Wow, you sure have a thing for NC State, don’t you?’ And he just laughed,” said Mark Packer.
The younger Packer said that it didn’t matter which school, most fans felt the same way about his father.
“He was covering the North Carolina game and the Tar Heels fans were like, ‘You hate North Carolina,'” Mark Packer said. Wake (Forest) fans were like, “you hate us.” And Billy just enjoyed it. I mean, people would be all over him. But honestly, he didn’t give ac**p’.