Cedric Dempsey, former executive director of the NCAA and University of Arizona athletic director, passed away this weekend at the age of 92.
Dempsey served as the athletic director for the Wildcats for 11 years before leading the NCAA from 1994-2002. Throughout his career, he championed the advancement of college athletics and spoke about the significant impact of Title IX in a 1984 interview.
"Our programs we feel are well integrated, we feel the opportunities to pursue excellence through athletics should be the same for men and for women,” Dempsey said. “I’m very excited about the growth."
During his time as AD, Dempsey hired iconic and Hall of Fame coaches such as Lute Olson, Joan Bonvicini, Frank Busch and Dick Tomey among others. He also served on the Pac-10 Championship Committee (1991-92) and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee(1988-89).
Dempsey's influence extended to sports broadcasting, where he implemented lucrative television deals with ESPN and CBS generating billions of dollars and helping shape the landscape of sports broadcasts we see today.
Dempsey was instrumental in Arizona's sports development bringing five national championships to the school during his tenure.
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