Athletes - Billy Packer

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	Athletes - Billy Packer

Billy Packer (born February 25, 1940 in Wellsville, New York) is an American sportscaster. For more than three decades, Packer has served as a color commentator on network television broadcasts of college basketball. He has teamed with Jim Nantz to comment on the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1991.

Early Life

Packer attended Wake Forest University from 1958 to 1962 and played guard on the school's basketball team for his last three years (in his day, freshmen were not eligible for varsity sports), leading Wake to three ACC titles and the 1962 Final Four. After graduation he had a brief stint as an assistant coach for his alma mater, then began his broadcasting career on regional ACC telecasts in 1972.

Iverson Comment

In 1996, during an on-air broadcast of a game between Georgetown and Villanova, Packer described the Hoyas star guard Allen Iverson as a "tough monkey". Packer later apologized, insisting he was actually trying to praise Iverson's relentless play. Both Iverson and Georgetown coach John Thompson were not offended by the remark. Thompson told USA Today he doesn't "have to explain to anybody about Billy being a racist because he's not."

Apology to Duke students

Packer was once again the center of controversy in 2000, when he publically apologized to two Duke University students for allegedly sexist comments he made before a men's basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. According to published reports, when the students asked Packer to show his press pass, he responded, "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?" Packer apologized after the comments were published in Duke University's student-run newspaper, The Chronicle.

Martelli Feud

Recently, Packer has become a somewhat controversial figure among college basketball fans and media. In 2004, he was involved in an on-air spat with Saint Joseph's University head coach Phil Martelli, when he questioned the #1 seed that St. Joe's was given by the NCAA committee. The Hawks ended up being defeated one game short of the Final Four. This is similar to his criticism of Larry Bird's undefeated Indiana State University team getting ranked #1 in the media polls and a #1 seed in the 1979 tournament. Indiana State eventually made the final game, losing to Michigan State.

Anti Mid-Major Bias and Packer's Comeuppance

In 2006, Packer again hit sports headlines after blasting the inclusion of mid-major teams in the NCAA tournament, when larger conference teams like University of Cincinnati and Florida State University were left out altogether. His comments caused a backlash among fans of mid-major conferences such as the Missouri Valley Conference and Colonial Athletic Association, both of whom have ended up having succesful tournament showings (Bradley University and Wichita State making it to the Sweet Sixteen and George Mason advancing to the Final Four). Packer complained on Selection Sunday that teams from these two conferences had won just one game between them in the past three year's tournaments. In 2006, these teams had won eight games before the Final Four even began.

History & Awards

Since the mid-1970s Packer has been a fixture on national telecasts, first with NBC (1974-1981) and then CBS (1982-present). He won a Sports Emmy Award in 1993.

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