Raycom's ACC Sign Off

I get a little misty eyed as Raycom "retires" from the ACC after 37 years. If you are a Tobacco Road hoops fan, Raycom telecasts are a family member. After this conference tourney in Charlotte the new ACC Network will be birthed. Bob Holliday and Jeff Gravley at WRAL stroll down memory lane with a Raycom tribute:

Story & Video from wralSPORTSfan.com

My sports broadcasting and marketing career began with UVA's radio network in 1979 as the Ralph Sampson era commenced in Charlottesville. The company was acquired by Capitol Broadcasting, and I moved to Raleigh in February 1983 as the Wolfpack started its National Championship run. My Brentwood neighbors spray painted our street red and white. Soon thereafter Capitol sent me to Richmond, but I returned to NC in 1991 as Duke University took the NCAA title. It's wonderful to have these big sports stories among your life's historical markers. At Capitol I've had the incredibly good fortune to work with the trifecta of NC State, Duke and UVA on their radio networks and athletic department marketing.

When I was starting out four decades ago, televised games were rare, so commercial breaks were limited. (Imagine that!) In some games, we weren't able to air all of the spots we had sold! But eventually, advertising revenue won the day, and collegiate athletics was transformed into a major media enterprise. In addition to the big bucks, technology now brings us to place where a conference can have its own cable channel and practically every sport can be televised.

I do have a lament, as someone in the local broadcasting business, that all of this programming will move to cable/satellite/Internet. That's hard to swallow, and viewers will probably be surprised (or confused) when the new network premiers in August.

But we move on, and we tip our cap to Raycom. Their vision and platform transformed college sports. What's next? Further conference expansion? Games in Europe or Asia? 3D telecasts? Augmented reality? I'll be OK as long as State plays Carolina and Duke and Wake Forest, as long as the local rivalries endure...on Tobacco Road.