Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, left, with Larry Conley.Over his 42 years as a television analyst, Larry Conley has done more than 1,800 college basketball games and more than 500 baseball broadcasts.
On Monday at noon he’ll share at least a few of those experiences with the Chattanooga Quarterback Club at Finley Stadium’s Stadium Club, and the public is invited. Attendance costs $10 with a meal, $4 without.
“I’m semi-retired now,” Conley said Friday. “I told Fox Sports that I didn’t want a schedule this season but I’d be happy to help out here and there, especially if it was a game I could drive to such as Conference USA games at Middle Tennessee, UAB, Charlotte, somewhere like that.
“I’m almost 72 now, and my knees aren’t what they used to be, but I’m still a really big fan of college basketball. It’s still fun being there, being around college kids.”
As a member of Kentucky’s beloved Rupp’s Runts squad that lost to Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA title game, Conley once was one of the most famous college kids around. He eventually went into television work, where he and Tom Hammond probably wound up calling more SEC basketball games than any broadcasting team in league history.
“Tom and I have been friends since we were 15 years old,” Conley said. “It was a great partnership and remains a great friendship. Rarely do you find a guy you have so much in common with.”
A longtime resident of the Atlanta area, Conley said he does “several of these speaking engagements a year. It’s always fun talking college basketball.”