A Legacy Remembered: Billy Packer Left Profound Impact on College Basketball
1/27/2023 11:17:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Billy Packer left a lasting legacy on the court at Wake Forest and shared his knowledge of the game of basketball with millions of basketball fans throughout his storied broadcast career.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Led by guard Billy Packer, the 1962 Demon Deacons became the first, and only to this date, Wake Forest team to advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
The Wake Forest community mourns the passing of the Wake Forest great and legendary broadcaster. Packer was a 1962 graduate of Wake Forest and earned his Arts and Sciences degree in Economics.
Packer was a graduate of Liberty High School in Pennsylvania. He attended Wake Forest from 1958 to 1962 and was the team captain for his final season in 1961-62. He led Wake to two Atlantic Coast Conference titles in '61 and '62 and the 1962 Final Four. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in '61 and '62 and was a two-time All-ACC selection.
During his Wake Forest career, Packer scored over 1,300 career points and led the team every season in free throw percentage. He finished with a career percentage of 81.9 from the charity stripe, the 12th-best in program history. His first season, 1959-60, Packer led the team in field goal percentage as well, shooting 44.7 percent from the field on the year.
After graduation, he was an assistant coach at Wake Forest from 1966-70 and was instrumental in the recruitment of Charlie Davis, who went on to become the first black ACC Player of the Year in 1971. In 1972, Packer began his career in broadcasting in Raleigh when he was asked to fill in as color analyst for a regionally televised ACC game. Packer became a regular the next season.
Packer went on to cover every NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, including the Final Four, from 1975 to 2008. For many years he also covered ACC games for Raycom Sports and won a Sports Emmy Award in 1993. In 1986 he helped create the computer game Hoops.
In 2005, Packer received the Marvin Francis Award for "notable achievement and service in coverage of the ACC," as reported by The Washington Post. After retiring in 2008, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He returned to the studio with Bob Knight for Survive and Advance in March 2009, an NCAA tournament preview show produced by Fox Sports Net.
Quotes Remembering Billy Packer
The Wake Forest community mourns the passing of the Wake Forest great and legendary broadcaster. Packer was a 1962 graduate of Wake Forest and earned his Arts and Sciences degree in Economics.
Packer was a graduate of Liberty High School in Pennsylvania. He attended Wake Forest from 1958 to 1962 and was the team captain for his final season in 1961-62. He led Wake to two Atlantic Coast Conference titles in '61 and '62 and the 1962 Final Four. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in '61 and '62 and was a two-time All-ACC selection.
During his Wake Forest career, Packer scored over 1,300 career points and led the team every season in free throw percentage. He finished with a career percentage of 81.9 from the charity stripe, the 12th-best in program history. His first season, 1959-60, Packer led the team in field goal percentage as well, shooting 44.7 percent from the field on the year.
After graduation, he was an assistant coach at Wake Forest from 1966-70 and was instrumental in the recruitment of Charlie Davis, who went on to become the first black ACC Player of the Year in 1971. In 1972, Packer began his career in broadcasting in Raleigh when he was asked to fill in as color analyst for a regionally televised ACC game. Packer became a regular the next season.
Packer went on to cover every NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, including the Final Four, from 1975 to 2008. For many years he also covered ACC games for Raycom Sports and won a Sports Emmy Award in 1993. In 1986 he helped create the computer game Hoops.
In 2005, Packer received the Marvin Francis Award for "notable achievement and service in coverage of the ACC," as reported by The Washington Post. After retiring in 2008, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He returned to the studio with Bob Knight for Survive and Advance in March 2009, an NCAA tournament preview show produced by Fox Sports Net.
Quotes Remembering Billy Packer
- Alley Hart ('61):
- "He was a great college basketball player and a great student as well. When he was broadcasting, he knew more about college basketball than anyone in the country. He really wanted to get the college and the pro game to come together and we spoke about that often. I will miss him as he truly did a lot for collegiate athletics."
- Dave Budd ('60):
- "We had been friends for over 60 years. He was a great teammate and friend, and we had dinner a couple of years ago when the 1995 reunion took place, and we really enjoyed our time together and re-hashed some old stories. The group that eventually went to the Final Four were sophomores when I was a senior, and it was great to follow their success after I left Wake Forest."
- Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Forbes:
- "Billy Packer was a tremendous player at Wake Forest, leading the Demon Deacons to the Final Four in 1962. Growing up in the Midwest during the 70's and 80's, Billy Packer was the first person I associated Wake Forest basketball with as he became one of the most prominent voices in college basketball on television. For 34-straight years, from John Wooden's last National Championship in 1975, to a Kansas overtime win over Memphis in 2008, I watched every National Championship game he broadcasted. He had one of the most unprecedented runs in the history of broadcast sports television. Everyone in the Demon Deacon family mourns his passing and we send our heartfelt condolences to Mark and the entire Packer family."
- Director of Athletics John Currie:
- "Billy Packer's impact on the game of college basketball spans well beyond the city of Winston-Salem and the incredible career he had on the court for the Demon Deacons. To countless people, including me, who grew up watching ACC basketball on the old Raycom / Jefferson-Pilot network, Billy Packer's presence and voice is synonymous with the passion of Tobacco Road basketball and the Big Four. He set the standard of excellence for a national color analyst and truly helped turn the Final Four into one of the most popular events in the world. On behalf of the entire Wake Forest community, our thoughts and prayers are with Liz, Mark, Brandt, the entire Packer family and the friends who are grieving today."
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