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Billy Packer, legendary college basketball broadcaster and beloved voice of the Final Four, has died at 82, his family confirmed Thursday night.
Packer, whose broadcast career included 34 Final Fours, passed away from kidney failure after weeks of being hospitalized in Charlotte, his son, Mark, told The Associated Press.
CBS's college basketball broadcast commentators Jim Nance (left) and Billy Packer on the court for pregame analysis, Storrs Connecticut, 1991. (Bob Stowell/Getty Images)
He had been battling several medical issues at the time of his passing.
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"The Packer Family would like to share some sad news. Our amazing father, Billy, has passed. We take peace knowing that he’s in heaven with Barb. RIP, Billy," he said separately in a tweet late Thursday night.
Packer’s award-winning career made him a household name during the NCAA tournament where he worked on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008, covering historic moments like John Wooden’s final game as coach.
Sportscaster Billy Packer (left) interviews coach Bobby Knight after Indiana's victory in the NCAA Final Four. (Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Wooden’s 10th and final national championship coincided with Packer’s first time calling the Final Four in 1975.
"He really enjoyed doing the Final Fours," Mark Packer told the AP. "He timed it right. Everything in life is about timing. 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 sort of took off with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and that became, I think, the catalyst for college basketball fans to just go crazy with March Madness."
CBS analyst Billy Packer looks on as the Oklahoma State Cowboys mascot attempts to get some television time before the start of the fourth round regional game of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament against the St. Joseph's Hawks at Continental Airlines Arena on March 27, 2004, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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Tributes for Packer also poured in on social media.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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