Tommy Kane enjoying ‘ACC Road Trip

Former NC State basketball player Tommy Kane lived the dream while in college, and he's doing it again in his professional career.

Kane was a manager for former coaches Jim Valvano and Les Robinson at NC State, and worked his way on to the team as a walk-on for his senior year in 1992-93. Kane is now running his own company Pack30 Productions, and is the host of "ACC Road Trip" on Raycom Sports and the ACC Network.

Kane vividly remembers his days at NC State. His favorite memory was when star forward Tom Gugliotta scored 36 points in a 99-88 win over No. 10-ranked North Carolina Jan. 22, 1992, in Reynolds Coliseum. He is now neighbors with Gugliotta, one of his close friends, in Atlanta.

"We had just come off a really bad stretch, and weren't a very good team at the time, but he went off for 36 points and beat the Tar Heels pretty much singlehandedly," Kane said. "I'll never forget that game as long as I'll live. Every game in Reynolds Coliseum was a chill-bump moment for me. That place was untouchable."

In 1993, Kane earned his NC State degree in communications — radio and television — and minored in coaching. He's put his major and minor to good use since then.

Kane worked for Sports South, which was part of Turner Sports. That eventually became Fox Sports Net South in Atlanta. He ran the promotions and creative services department, but after about 15 years at FSN South he decided to strike out on his own in 2008 to form his own company and hasn't looked back.

"I had done some on-air work and some reporting for 'Countdown To Signing Day,' and I just got to the point where I could do this on my own," said the 40-year-old Kane, who has also been an assistant coach in basketball at The Lovett School in Atlanta. "I kind of stepped away and did my own free-lance company. I was able to do it at the time because I was single and didn't have any responsibilities."

Kane spends about 80 percent of his time behind the camera, and 20 percent in front of it. He's traveled throughout ACC country to film tailgating and pregame footage before the various league football games. He also hosts the "ATL Sports Experience" for Comcast in Atlanta.

"My thing is with 'ACC Road Trip,' I'm going out every weekend on the road," Kane said. "During basketball season, I'll go to a few games. It is really fun. I grew up in ACC country in North Carolina, and I'm an ACC fan. I get to go to the best local establishments, and the tailgates and game-day traditions that the school has to offer. I just get to be part of the game, and stand on the sidelines. It is a lot of work, but it's way too much fun to be considered a job."

Kane was slated to be back in Raleigh for the Florida State at NC State game Thursday.

"We are really fired up for that," Kane said. "That is a huge game for the Atlantic Division there. We'll be in town Oct. 26. At Clemson, we joined the equipment crew team, and helped pack up the truck at Auburn. At NC State, we'll be hanging out with the guys who do the field maintenance. We are going to help them paint the end zones, and put the lines on the field. We'll hit all the tailgates, too."

Friends and fans often ask Kane what are the best places to go to for his job. The answers might surprise some people.

"As far as tailgating goes, we just got back from Florida State at Miami, and those guys down there, they do it up really well. It's a big party scene in Miami. Clemson does it up really well, too. They have so many people to pack into the stadium, with 85,000 or so. NC State is also right there at the top just because of the history of tailgating there, and the ability to tailgate at the state fairgrounds.

"As far as game-day experiences go, the two coolest I've been a part of are at Virginia Tech, with the team coming out on the field to 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica, and that place is really rocking. They love their football at Virginia Tech. Clemson running down the hill, too. They call it one of the most exciting 25 seconds in football."

Raycom is part of the new ACC Network, and fans can watch "ACC Road Trip," which is sponsored by John Deere. The show usually airs a half hour before or after the ACC game of the week on Raycom. Past shows can be watched on its Web site (www.theacc.com/roadtrip). Kane is also on Twitter.

"It airs every Saturday with times varying depending on where you live, and also some at halftime," Kane said. "The cool thing at the end of the year, they take all the shows and segments that I do and combine it for a one-hour stand-alone show called 'ACC Road Trip' that runs all throughout the holiday season on all the regional sports networks up and down the East Coast. The stuff we did last year is also online called the 'Best Of.'"