Unstoppable: A story of love, faith, and the power couple who ignited the college sports broadcasting boom
by George Hirthler
The inspiring, untold story of how Rick and Dee Ray fell in love and conquered the college sports broadcasting game.
Unstoppable tells the story of the golden age of college basketball through the eyes of the power couple who ignited the collegiate sports broadcasting boom and set America on the path to frenzied fandom. It is the story of the television revolution Rick and Dee launched—the deals they cut, the producers and talent they hired, the brilliant players, legendary coaches, hard-nosed athletic directors, and perennial collegiate powerhouses who helped lift the sport from its local roots to national prominence. It is also their love story, from the blind date where they discovered common roots and a shared faith to their long and difficult quest to build a family through adoption. From the moment they met, they were equally ambitious, both possessing a relentless hunger for success. But the day they cashed out and moved to the beach, they realized they had won their greatest prize years before—when they found each other.
“Basketball in the ACC region is a religion. Rick and Dee were like evangelists who … spread the gospel.” —Mike Krzyzewski
“It’s a classic American success story. They saw an opportunity and had the guts to capitalize on it.” —Pat LaPlatney
About the Author
George Hirthler spent thirty years as an award-winning creative writer/producer in the Olympic Movement before writing The Idealist, a fictionalized biography of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. In 1996, he was named a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France.
Lori Wellinghoff –
My husband and I met and became friends with Dee and Rick in the last couple of years (it’s September of 2023 as I write). So, naturally, when I heard there was a book out about the two of them, I wanted to read it. Well, now I have. And in short order too. It’s a captivating and quick read. But, most importantly, it’s one of the most inspirational stories I’ve ever read. And it’s also incredibly frank—no whitewashing that where there’s ups, there’s also downs. Unstoppable tells the tale of two people whose sheer will and magnetic attraction to each other and everyone in their orbit go about changing the world of college sports and beyond. But, best of all, we learn about their love for each other, for their work, for their colleagues, for their community, for their faith and for the numerous children they adopt and raise as their own. One would think these two have clones aplenty in order to do what all they’ve done—but somehow they did it on their own and were kind enough to share their amazing story with all of us. No matter whether you know the Rays or not, reading this story will—without a doubt—inspire you to be brave and do good.
Mark L, NetGalley reviewer –
Sometimes I choose books purely on the title and the description, and this was one of them. I had no who this power couple was, but I was interested to learn more.
Rick was a great television programmer and Dee was a great salesperson. Put them together, and they formed a company called Raycom that got the basketball and footballs rights for television broadcasts for conferences and universities. It all started with a basketball tournament that was in Alaska. It was really neat to see how each got started in their profession, how they met, and how they operated their business. (See this review on NetGalley.)
Christina Lane, PhD –
I opened up the book yesterday to take a peek and once I started reading, I could not put it down.