Billy Packer, veteran college basketball commentator and analyst, has died at 82, his son Mark Packer announced Thursday via Twitter.
Mark told the Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized for the past three weeks for various illnesses and eventually succumbed to kidney failure.
His contribution to college basketball
The announcer was the voice of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States (NCCA) men’s basketball tournament for more than 30 years.
Packer covered more than 34 Final Fours, from 1975 to 2008, for NBC and CBS, news outlet NBC reported.
While working as a lead analyst at NBC and later at CBS, he also worked for the College Commissioners Association (CCA) games at the sports production company Raycom, ESPN specified.
Packer made some of the most famous comments in Final Four history, being the most recognized “Simon says…championship,” after Miles Simon led Arizona to the 1997 national title.
Billy Packer was a controversial person
During his broadcasting days Packer was known for being controversial, often drawing the ire of college basketball fans.
One of the biggest controversies in which he was involved occurred in 1996 on CBS when during a game he used the term “tough monkey” to describe the then Georgetown star Allen Iverson.
The commenter never apologized for his comment, saying, “I won’t apologize for what I said, because what I said has no implications in my mind that have to do with Allen Iverson’s race.”
Recognition for your talent
Among the different awards that Packer received throughout his career, the Sports Emmy that he received in 1993 for Outstanding Sports Personality, Study and Sports Events Analyst stands out, highlighted The Washington Post.
Other honors he received include the National Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Award and induction into the Halls of Fame for his connections to Wake Forest, North Carolina sports and the Polish-American community.
