Raycom Sports Raycom Sports is an American syndicator of sports television programs . It is headquartered in Charlotte , North Carolina , and owned and operated by Raycom Media . History . Founding . It was founded in 1979 by husband and wife , Rick and Dee Ray . Since its inception , it has produced and distributed football and basketball games from the Atlantic Coast Conference . ( It was also a distributor of games from the Big Eight and Big Ten conferences , as well as the now defunct Southwest Conference . ) Rick Ray was a program manager at WCCB in Charlotte when he proposed that WCCB produce more basketball games . Ray thought that they would be very profitable for WCCB , given North Carolina ' s reputation as a college basketball hotbed . However , station management turned him down . Not long after setting up shop , Ray put together an early - season basketball tournament which became the Great Alaska Shootout . Partnership with Jefferson - Pilot Communications . Two years later , Raycom made what would prove to be its biggest splash when it teamed up with Jefferson - Pilot Communications to take over production of ACC basketball games after longtime producer C . D . Chesley retired . The two companies formed a joint venture , Raycom / JP Sports . From 1983 to 1986 , Raycom and JP offered a pay - per - view package called " Season Ticket . " In 2006 , the name of the partnership changed to Raycom / LF Sports , the " LF " is Lincoln Financial , the marketing name of Lincoln National Corporation , which purchased Jefferson - Pilot that year . As a result of the purchase , Jefferson - Pilot Communications was renamed Lincoln Financial Media . Starting in 2004 , the same partnership took over production of syndicated ACC football games ; Jefferson - Pilot had produced ACC football alone since 1984 . In 2007 , Raycom began broadcasting the ACC men ' s basketball tournament in HD and broadcast 4 ACC men ' s basketball regular season games in HD in 2008 . Raycom Sports also owns and operates the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte . Unlike other sports syndicators , Raycom controlled nearly all advertising for the broadcast , but paid stations for the airtime . While this was a risky strategy at first , Raycom reaped a huge windfall since ACC games frequently garnered ratings in the 20s and 30s . By a happy coincidence , the ACC ' s regional territory included several fast - growing markets such as Charlotte , the Piedmont Triad , the Triangle , Hampton Roads , Richmond , Baltimore and Washington , D . C . Purchase of Lincoln Financial Sports . On November 30 , 2007 , Raycom purchased Lincoln Financial Sports and took over as syndicator for SEC football and basketball before losing the rights to ESPN Regional Television in 2009 . Raycom is the sole owner of the broadcast rights for ACC men ' s basketball and syndicated ACC football through 2010 - 2011 . Merger with Ellis Communications . In 1994 , Raycom Sports merged with Ellis Communications , but remained autonomous , with its own headquarters in Charlotte . When the Retirement Systems of Alabama - led group bought Ellis in 1996 , the Raycom name was so well respected that it chose to rename the entire broadcast group Raycom Media . ACC Network . Starting in 2010 , Raycom Sports has branded its ACC football and basketball games as ACC Network . Other programming . Raycom has also produced specials on Elvis Presley and other non - sports subjects . It was to have produced Team Racing Auto Circuit auto racing in 2003 ; however , the league folded before an event could be run . Announcers . Some of Raycom ' s current and former announcers include Mike Patrick , Tim Brando , Tom Hammond , Billy Packer , Doc Walker , Tim Brant , Mike Gminski , Mike Hogewood and Bucky Waters . Availability . Raycom Sports games are often part of the out - of - market sports package s ESPN GamePlan and ESPN Full Court , which are available on ESPN3 .