Remembering when Jefferson Pilot & Raycom reigned supreme
Before wall-to-wall streaming, 4K picture clarity, and instant highlights on your phone, SEC football had a different flavor—one that fans of a certain generation still remember fondly. The Jefferson Pilot/Raycom Sports era was must-see TV, even if you had to watch it at midnight.
For Kentucky fans, that meant dodging spoilers all Saturday, only to catch the Cats on tape delay after the late local news. You’d grab a snack, hunker down, and hope Dave “Buzz” Baker was calling the game. If you were lucky, it was live with Dave Neal in the booth—a voice that was SEC football from 1995 to 2009.
These weren’t just regional broadcasts. They were part of our Saturdays. Buzz is still around, calling baseball for SEC Network, and he remains a local legend in Lexington. But back then, he was the guy.
The announcer roster? A who's who of sports media. Billy Packer, Tim Brando, Tim Brant, Dan Bonner, Mike Gminski, Mike Patrick, Jim Thacker, Brad Nessler, and the unforgettable Joe Dean Jr. with his “sweet string music from Lexington, K-Y” catchphrase. Even Dick Vitale and Tom Hammond spent time under the Raycom umbrella.
Raycom, the last independent free-tv sports syndicator, whose lineage of carrying ACC basketball goes back to the 1950s, signs off for the last time. pic.twitter.com/bfyWlCDDS5
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 17, 2019
Sure, the graphics were grainy and the theme music wasn’t polished. But it was real. It was regional. It was ours. And it made SEC football feel like family.
You didn’t just watch the game—you soaked in the rhythm of Saturdays in the South. When Raycom had the call, you knew you were getting SEC grit, not glitz.
Today’s coverage is slicker. But it’s hard to match the soul of those Raycom days. For Kentucky fans who grew up in that era, it wasn’t just watching the Wildcats—it was being a part of a weekly tradition that felt uniquely Bluegrass.