Spreading the Gospel of Hoops: How Television Helped Make Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball a Cultural Fixture in the South

In the decades immediately following War World II, Sunday mornings in the South were especially cherished. It was a sacred moment in the week when all other concerns and obligations were placed aside to gather at church for worshiping with friends and neighbors. Preparing for Sunday church began early in the morning with family members putting on their best clothes for the weekly service. An assumptive part of Southern life was Sunday school, church service, and the all-important "coffee hour" where news, gossip, and thoughts on the weekend's sports contests were exchanged. Following church, the routine was often to gather for a family lunch, featuring grandmother's fried chicken, okra, and sweet potato casserole. For many Southern states, "blue laws" did not allow for shopping on Sundays, encouraging further family time or naps later in the afternoon, perhaps providing an opportunity to absorb and contemplate the gospel lesson of the day.

Beginning in the late-1950s, there was a different gospel being spread by the relatively new medium of television, relegating the South's traditional favorite sport of college football to second-class status versus the city game of basketball. For Southern states along the coast of the Atlantic, college basketball became a fierce passion that began late each year and continued until early spring. Fueling this interest and energy was television, which helped spread the gospel of basketball through weekly-televised games of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball. These games quickly became appointment viewing for many.

This article is the story of how television helped ignite and drive the intense passion for ACC basketball throughout the Southeast. It is the story about a pioneering sports television entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to spread this city-game gospel throughout the region, which at the time was comprised largely of farmland and the traditional Southern industries of agriculture, furniture, and textiles. For many, college basketball became a virtual religion in these Southeastern states, aided by the innovative and creative mind of independent television sports producer, Castleman D. Chesley.

This research recounts the story behind Chesley's successful sports productions, which aired from the late 1950s and continued through the early 1980s, in order to capture this important part of Southern culture and sports broadcast history. This is the era when the ACC initially established it preeminence on the basketball court and on the airwaves. The work answers the questions of how Chesley developed the idea for the ACC broadcasts, funded the enterprise, managed the productions, and maintained the success for so many years. Traditional historical research methods have been used to collect the information contained in this document. Specifically, fourteen in-depth personal interviews were conducted with individuals involved in the productions of ACC basketball and the sponsorship of the broadcasts. Important primary and secondary sources were reviewed for key historical information and insight. Archival research was conducted at several conference institutions to support and add further depth to the story.

This research is important because it captures a key part of Southern sports culture. Young people in the South grew up watching the ACC games on television, perhaps inspiring them to play basketball or to develop an interest in attending one of the original eight conference universities. Much like their religious affiliation, Southern fans defined themselves by their association with one of the conference member institutions: Clemson University, University of South Carolina, Wake Forest University, Duke University, University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, University of Virginia, and the University of Maryland. For Southerners, ACC basketball became more than just following a team, attending a game, or reading about it in the morning's newspaper. It was a calling. This energy and passion began to emerge just ten short years after sports first appeared over the television airwaves following the end of World War II.

Historical Context

Sports broadcasting has a rich history in the United States. Prior to television establishing its presence in American households, those interested in sports could follow their favorite teams or leagues through newspapers, [End Page...