If you have ever listened to a Duke Blue Devils football or basketball game you have undoubtedly heard the voice of Bob Harris. That is, if you listened to a game during or after the 1976 season. This year will mark his 40th and last year behind the microphone for the Blue Devils according to the university.
From Duke's release:
Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Harris, the "Voice of the Blue Devils" for the past four decades, will retire from his post following the 2016-17 men's basketball season. Harris, who will retire as the longest-tenured play-by-play announcer in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, will make a public announcement tomorrow (Wednesday, July 6) at a press conference set for 12 noon in the Bill Brill Media Room in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
A three-time recipient of the North Carolina Broadcaster of the Year honor from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 1988, 1991 and 2011, Harris is a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 2006) and the Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame (1993). In 2009, he was honored with the Atlantic Coast Conference's prestigious Skeeter Francis Award, an honor presented annually to individuals for distinguished service to the league. In 2016, Harris received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, an honor conferred by the Governor of North Carolina for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and its communities.
Duke fans will surely miss Harris after this season and hopefully the basketball team can send him out with a bang in April. Coming home with a championship would be pretty great and a fitting way for a championship voice like Harris' to go out —- on top.
[h/t CollegeSpun]