Former Western Athletic Conference commissioner and Denver resident Joe Kearney, one of the most influential athletic administrators on the Front Range in his day, died Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz. at age 83.
Kearney ran the WAC from 1980-94, rebuilding the league with the additions of Air Force and Hawaii after the Arizona schools left for the Pac-10. Under his watch, Brigham Young became a national power and the league signed its first national TV package with a basketball agreement with ESPN under.
The WAC was then a full-fledged member of the College Football Association, the BCS of its day.
Another of his major accomplishments was developing the Holiday Bowl for the WAC champ, as a successor to the Fiesta Bowl. Kearney also merged the WAC with the women’s High Country Athletic Conference to include men’s and women’s sports under one league identity.
Prior to coming to Denver to run the WAC, Kearney was athletic director at University of Washington, Arizona State and Michigan State when the Magic Johnson led Spartans won the 1979 NCAA title.
He moved to Tucson after retiring. Kearney leaves his wife, Dorothea, five children and eleven grandchildren.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
