The final decade-plus of Pac-12 basketball was closely associated with the broadcast duo of play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch and former UCLA star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton.
Pasch posted the following on X regarding Walton’s passing:
There will never be another Bill. Love you & miss you my friend.
Just over a day after the Pac-12 hosted the final game of its existence before realignment—the conference’s baseball championship—Walton’s family announced on Monday that the broadcasting legend had died at age 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
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Among the many fans and media members paying tribute to Walton was Pasch, who began calling Pac-12 basketball games alongside him on ESPN in 2013.
“Bill and I had a special friendship,” Pasch said. “He used to tell me a lot, he would take the headset off during a commercial break and just say to me, ‘I love you, but don’t tell anybody.’ He just enjoyed the fact that I was his sparring partner. He could have fun with me and just take shots at me. I knew that it was all just part of the game, and off the air we had a great friendship. Bill paid for every meal. I remember the last game I had with Bill was Feb. 1 at USC. We were talking a lot about the future. It was a conversation I’ll never forget.”
The broadcast partners were known for their playful on-air dynamic, with Walton often teasing Pasch or steering their conversation away from basketball in his unique style.
“Just a very sweet man that was very genuine,” college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said on ESPN. “Always fun. He was always interested in you. He wasn’t the type that was going to sit down and talk about himself. He was going to draw you out and find something about you and your family.”
Walton began his broadcasting career in 1990 after winning two national titles at UCLA and playing 14 years in the NBA.
He called college and NBA games for CBS, ESPN, and NBC, winning two Emmy awards in 1991 and 2001.
