Tim Bourret says Packer and Durham brought 'instant credibility' to ACC Network

On the history of the ACC Kickoff:

"I've been going to this since the early 1980s, and you're right, It was we used to always meet at a place called Foxfire up in Pinehurst, North Carolina. There was a lot more gathering and playing golf, a lot of golf. Two days of golf as I remember the Duke, the Duke football coach always seems to win the tournament led by Coach Spurrier in the '86 to '89 era. All the assistant coaches would come and they'd play in the golf tournament, and at night, we'd kind of have a dinner and then have a reception and sit around and talk. It was a little bit of a different situation; of course, we didn't have as many teams. My first year in the league, we only had seven teams in the league and it was that way until we added Georgia Tech in '83. Then we went to eight, but even when it was eight, it was very manageable."

"We didn't start taking players until 1995. Brian Dawkins was the first player that we brought. It was just about the coaches because in the 80s, and even into the 90s, the guys weren't on campus to work out. They'd have summer jobs, and they'd go home, and they'd work out on their own things like that. I remember William Perry came back overweight one year, and he did an interview, and he said that was what preseason camp was for ‘to get in shape’. And so, he'd come in, he'd lose 30 pounds, and he'd be good to go. That's just the way things were. Now. the guys are on campus for both sessions to summer school, and it's a little different."

@clemsonsportstalk Tim Bourret | ACC Kickoff Full Interview | Clemson Sports Talk #ACCKickoff #Clemson #CollegeFootball #Interview #ForYouPage #FYP @Clemson Football @ACC @iHeartRadio ♬ original sound - Clemson Sports

On the lack of media guides at the event:

"I guess so-- you're touching a nerve there. I still think there should be printed media guides, but that's the way people seem to have gone. As you know, I do research for NBC Golf, and when I'm they're sitting next to an announcer and they come to us with 5-10 seconds ahead of time, you don't have time to go on your computer and find it. But if you've got a printed chart in front of you, I could pick up that chart and show it to the announcer, and it's the same way for me when I'm broadcasting the Clemson football or basketball game. When I have it printed and I know what page it's on I can get to it a lot quicker than trying to go through my computer to find something. Nevermind a lot of the places are kind of dark, and it's hard to see sometimes, but anyway, I went on a tangent there but yeah, I still think these guys, the media here who cover the ACC every day, I still think they should have printed media guides."

On Mark Packer and Wes Durham’s impact on the ACC:

"I think both of them brought instant credibility because of their fathers and their relationship to the fathers. Long-time ACC fans knew their fathers and watched them for years and years and years. Unfortunately, we just lost Billy (Packer) recently, but the stories that they can tell from what they witnessed-- Mark talking about going to games with Billy when he was 13 years old and being at these games. It just adds credibility, and they've both done a lot for the ACC Network and the ACC in general. I'm glad they're very significantly involved today through the ACC Network."