William Brill (June 21, 1931 – April 10, 2011) was an American sportswriter and author. He was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and attende
Christchurch School
in

Middlesex County, Virginia Middlesex County is a county located on the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,625. Its county seat is Saluda. History This area was long settled by indigenous peoples; those encount ...

. Brill attended

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

before began his sports writing career with the ''Covington Virginian'' in 1952. Brill joined ''

The Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

'' in 1956 and was named sports editor in 1960, before retiring in 1991. Brill had something of a "love-hate" relationship with his readers, who generally recognized him as a talented writer and reporter, but often felt he favored universities in North Carolina over

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, and ''The Roanoke Times'' promoted its college football prediction contest as an opportunity to "beat Brill." When Virginia Tech was invited to join the ACC in 2004, the retired Brill predicted that the Hokies would not win an ACC championship during his lifetime. However, they won twelve, with the Virginia Tech football team winning the ACC championship in their first season in the conference, prompting calls and letters to Brill from Virginia Tech fans asking when his funeral was being held. Brill wrote a sports column for the Durham ''Herald-Sun'' from August 1992 through April 1994. He served as President of the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association (ACSWA) from 1982 to 1984, named the Virginia Sportswriter of the Year in 1991, and President of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters from 1993 to 1995. Brill was the 1995 recipient of the Jake Wade Award for lifetime contributions to college athletics from College Sports Information Directors. Brill covered a total of 35 Final Fours, more than any other sports writer. The USBWA president in 1980–81, Brill began his career with the Roanoke Times and World News in 1956 and served as the paper's executive sports editor and columnist through 1991. Following retirement, Brill settled in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, remaining a regular contributor to several publications until his death, at age 79, due to esophageal cancer, on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Duke men's basketball coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

visited him at Duke Med the morning of April 10. Brill was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

in 1999.

Bibliography

* 1986 – "Duke Basketball, 1906–1986, an Illustrated History.". Taylor Pub. Co., ASIN: B000NP1GH8 * 1993 – "A Season is a Lifetime: The Inside Story of the Duke Blue Devils and Their Championship Seasons", Simon & Schuster, 270 pages,

Awards

* 1967 Virginia Distinguished Service to Sports Award * 1991 Virginia Sports Information Directors Distinguished Service Award * 1991 Virginia Sportswriter of the Year * 1995 College Sports Information Directors Lifetime Achievement Award * 1996 Duke Sports Hall of Fame * 1998 Marvin “Skeeter” Francis Award for special contributions to

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

* 1999

inductee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brill, Bill American columnists 2011 deaths Duke University alumni People from Middlesex County, Virginia Writers from Philadelphia 1931 births Deaths from esophageal cancer Journalists from Virginia People from Durham, North Carolina Sportswriters from Pennsylvania