(RNN) – Mike Hogewood, a sports announcer who was best known for his work with Raycom Sports on ACC broadcasts, died at 65 on Wednesday.
He was a towering figure among ACC fans and media and in the sports community of his hometown Greensboro, NC.
He was sports director at WFMY there for 15 years.
“Sad news to report from the WMFY News 2 family, former Sports Director Mike Hogewood has died,” that station tweeted.
In 2013 he retired after 26 years in the industry.
"There's nothing like the atmosphere of a college-football game, and I'll miss it like crazy," he told the Winston-Salem Journal at that time. "But in broadcasting in particular, not many people to do same job for 27 years."
Colleagues and peers remembered him as a “real pro,” as ESPN’s Jay Bilas put it.
“Hogewood brought passion, enthusiasm and kindness to everything he did in the ACC,” Bilas wrote.
Sports reporter Erin Summers, who said she worked with him on his last broadcast, said she was “honored” to have worked with him.
“He was so talented and passionate about his craft, and an amazing mentor and friend to me. #rip #acclegend,” she wrote.
tough night for me personally to hear the news of Mike Hogewood passing away. got my start here at @WFMY as an intern with him. Taught me so much in this profession and would always come up and check on me when i saw him at games after he stopped working here. #RIPMIKE pic.twitter.com/F9Wa6WPXwi
— Brian Hall (@bhallwfmy) September 6, 2018
Mike Hogewood was known as Mr. ACC, and if you watched a football or basketball game on Raycom Sports, you saw his broadcasting work. RIP. https://t.co/HiZogleMEi
— Marc Davis (@marcdavissports) September 6, 2018
The ACC commissioner, John Swofford, called him a “dear friend” in a statement to WFMY and said he “consistently brought his wealth of knowledge to fans across the league.”
Fans also remembered him as a fixture on broadcasts.
“His face and voice always highlighted tournament time in Greensboro while I was growing up,” wrote the operator of a North Carolina State fan account.
“When I was a kid he was the best thing about the ACC football weekends,” Clemson Sports Talk also wrote.
He suffered a stroke in 2009, but made a return to the broadcast booth the next spring.
"God gave me a miracle," he told the Greensboro News & Record then. "God gave me a second chance. If my story can inspire somebody else, then going through this was worth it."
He leaves behind a wife, Nancy, son, Robert, daughter, Melissa and a number of grandchildren.
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