Bill Raftery
Episode 356
1 DEC 2025
An Emmy Award winner who fans know as the lead game analyst for FOX Sports’ college basketball coverage. Before joining FOX Sports, he spent 32 years covering basketball as an analyst on television and radio for CBS, ESPN and CBS Radio. He has covered the sport’s premier events, including the NCAA Tournament, Final Four, the BIG EAST Championship, Big Ten Championship, ACC Championship, SEC Championship and New Jersey Nets telecasts! He began his broadcasting career in 1982 with ESPN, where he served as a game analyst for college basketball through the 2012 season. From 1970-81, he was the head basketball coach at Seton Hall. He served as president of the BIG EAST Coaches Association from 1979-81. Prior to his time at Seton Hall, he coached five years at Fairleigh Dickinson, earning Coach of the Year honors from the New Jersey Basketball Writers Association in his final season with the program. He had played three seasons at LaSalle and following his senior campaign, was drafted by the New York Knicks.
Notable guest quotes:
“My mother went to church every single day of her life until late in her life, before she passed away, and we had to say the rosary every night at supper.”
“As a youngster we moved to Kearney, New Jersey… in that town, which was renowned for soccer, you weren’t considered an athlete if you didn’t play soccer. So, that became part of the three sports I played, which were baseball, basketball, and soccer.”
“I visited a number of colleges, and the only non-Catholic was Maryland. I went down there. The parish priest actually went on the recruiting trip with me.”
“I was a really late, late draft pick and there were only eight teams in the (NBA) and when I got cut, I went to my high school coach’s house with a six pack of beer. He wasn’t home so I left the beer and then went to my house and my mother said, ‘What are you doing home?’ She was from Ireland, so she was very matter of fact and sports wasn’t an end-all. I said, ‘Well, I got cut,’ and she said, ‘Well that’s too bad. Just go get yourself a nice job’.”
“There’s always somebody to provide a lift (to Mass), that helps. One of the gang makes sure that either on Saturday night or Sunday, depends on the game. The weekends I’m with CBS, so it’s nice and easy, we got plenty of people that are willing to drive me and take care of me. And usually there’s one or two on the crew that want to go as well… Or I can get home on a Sunday and go to a five o’clock Mass.”
“You’re who you are and hopefully some of the things you think are important come true; the way you spend time with your team, things that you might do.”
“We always had a priest, chaplain, who did a lot… with any of the kids who felt comfortable, any of them that had any sort of concerns or questions, we made sure we (put) them with, Father Mannion was ours for eleven years and he was a special man. He was also the Lions under Joe Schmidt – chaplain – and up in Buffalo with the Bills with Chuck Knox.”
“I don’t think you’re in (coaching) to have somebody pat you on the back. I think you’re in it to do the best you can and somewhat lead by example.”
“We used to do the usual, the pregame prayer. We’d have service on the weekend and like on a Saturday or Sunday where they all attended pretty much in my days no matter what their religion was.”
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