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Longtime college basketball broadcaster Billy Packer dies, son Mark Packer share on twitter Confirmed with AP. he was 82 years old.

“The Packer family would like to share some sad news. Our wonderful father, Billy, has passed away. Knowing he is in Heaven with (wife) Barb, we Take peace RIP, Billy,” wrote Mark, host of the ACC network. .

Mark Packer told the Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past three weeks, had several health problems, and eventually died Thursday night of kidney failure.

Billy Packer’s voice has been synonymous with March Madness for decades. After NBC aired on CBS, he was called up to the men’s Final Four every year from 1975 until 2008.

After joining NBC in 1974, Packer’s first Final Four in 1975 was a historic one. UCLA’s John Wooden his coach won his 10th championship in his final game as coach.

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In 1979, Packer, along with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire, was part of the crew that won the most acclaimed college basketball game in history: Magic Johnson’s Michigan State vs. Larry Bird’s Indiana State National Title. .

“He really enjoyed the Final Four,” Mark Packer said. “He hit the timing. Everything in life is timing. Frankly, it was a pleasure for him to be a part of something he was going to watch anyway. And college basketball by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.” became popular, and I think that’s what got college basketball fans hooked on March Madness.”

Praises flooded Packer along the way. He won an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Sports Personality/Analyst” in 1993 for his sports. He received the Kurt Gowdy His Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 as a contributor along with Dick Vitale.

Vitale tweeted: “Very saddened to hear of the passing of Billy Packer, a man with a passion for college basketball.

Packer joined CBS in 1981 when the network acquired rights to the NCAA tournament and was the network’s principal analyst until 2008.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said Packer “has been synonymous with college basketball for over 30 years and has set the standard of excellence as the voice of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.”

“He had a huge impact on the growth and popularity of the sport,” McManus said. “Just like Billy, he analyzed the game with his own style, perspective and opinion, but always focused on the game. Like family, he left a part of his legacy as CBS Sports, college basketball and most importantly as a beloved husband, father and grandfather. will be

Packer himself was an outstanding college basketball player before becoming one of the sport’s defining voices. He played for Wake Forest from his 1959 to his 1962 and helped the Demon Deacons win his two ACC tournament titles. The 1962 Wake Forest team reached the Final Four.

Packer was considered a controversial figure during the broadcast era, often drawing the ire of college basketball fans, especially on “Tobacco Road” in North Carolina.

“When I was a kid, I was a huge North Carolina State fan. I would watch a game and the next day I’d be like, ‘Boy, you were at North Carolina State, weren’t you?’ You’ll just laugh,” Mark Packer said.

The young Packer said school didn’t matter — most fans felt the same way about his father.

“When he covers a North Carolina game, Tar Heels fans will say, ‘I hate North Carolina,'” Mark Packer said. “Wake (Forest) fans will be like, ‘You hate us.’ , he honestly gave no crap.”

Contribution: Associated Press