"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former NCAA Executive Director and President Cedric Dempsey, who led the NCAA from 1994 through 2002 and was a former member of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, serving as chair in 1989. Ced was instrumental in shaping the NCAA as it moved into the new century, overseeing a restructuring of the organization, and strengthening the foundation of college sports for years that followed his tenure. His impact on the lives of student-athletes and administrators across the nation will be felt for years to come. Our condolences go out to his wife June and the extended Dempsey family during this difficult time."
-- NCAA President Charlie Baker and Senior Vice President for Basketball Dan Gavitt
Former NCAA President Cedric W. Dempsey died Saturday in San Diego at the age of 92.
Dempsey served as the Association's third CEO, from 1994 through 2002. He began his term as executive director, succeeding Richard D. Schultz, but the position was changed to president in 1997.
Dempsey was hired after more than 11 years as the director of athletics at Arizona, during which he chaired the Division I Men's Basketball Committee for two years and served as the Association's secretary-treasurer.
Remembered fondly as "the student-athletes' president" for his work in establishing national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees and a national Leadership Conference that catered to student-athlete needs, Dempsey also was a key figure in shaping NCAA history.
His major accomplishments included a groundbreaking bundled-rights agreement with CBS Sports and ESPN in 1999 that produced an 11-year, $6.2 billion contract to broadcast NCAA championships. Dempsey was especially proud of the multimillion-dollar Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund the agreement created, which provided student-athletes services not available through other student-athlete funds. He also lauded the length of the agreement.
"The exciting part of the new contract is the variety of platforms we have now and the time with which we have to build long-term relationships with corporate champions who can help deliver our educational mission," Dempsey told The NCAA News in 2002. "Before, a lot of our decisions were ratings-driven, because we were renegotiating every three or four years. Now we don't have to worry so much about that."
He also orchestrated a federated governance structure in 1997, which provided divisional autonomy in developing legislation and policy. Dempsey also is remembered for moving the national office in 1999 from Overland Park, Kansas, to Indianapolis after more than 40 years of the Association calling the Kansas City area home.
"Presidents and chancellors always had control at the campus level, but structurally within the NCAA, that was not true before 1997," Dempsey said.
NCAA championships opportunities, particularly for women, doubled under his watch. Dempsey also was a staunch advocate for diversity and inclusion, as his national office staff went from having 21.7% of its management positions filled by women and 8.7% by Black employees to 36% by women and 20% by Black employees.
Other national office improvements Dempsey engineered were establishing the education services group and increasing the size and scope of the information technology staff. Dempsey also established internal legal counsel and a government relations staff in Washington, D.C.
But it was his ties with student-athletes he most enjoyed.
"I've often felt that part of the responsibility of a professional is to be a good mentor," he said shortly before he retired from the NCAA presidency. "I hope I've had a positive impact on young people in that regard. I'll miss that kind of contact. Being around student-athletes and seeing them mature, and seeing how articulate and understanding they are, is special. When you get depressed by all the problems and issues, being around young people like our student-athletes gives you hope for the future."
Dempsey was an accomplished student-athlete himself at Albion, earning nine letters in three sports (football, basketball and baseball) before graduating in 1954. He was a three-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association selection in baseball and a league MVP in basketball as a senior. He established a single-game scoring record with 38 points against Hope College.
From 1959 to 1962, Dempsey served as Albion's head basketball and cross country coach. He went to the University of Arizona for several years, working as an assistant basketball coach, assistant professor of physical education and assistant athletics director. He was the athletics director at Pacific from 1967 to 1979 and served shorter stints in the same capacity at San Diego State and Houston.
In 1982, Dempsey became the AD at Arizona, where he stayed until joining the NCAA staff in 1994.
He earned a master's degree in education from Albion in 1956 and a Ph.D. from Illinois in 1963.
Key events during Cedric Dempsey's tenure as NCAA president
January 1994
Black Coaches Association threatens a boycott of Division I men's basketball games after delegates at the 1994 Convention defeat a proposal to increase the number of men's basketball grants-in-aid from 13 to 14. The threat is subsequently averted.
April 1994
The NCAA, in conjunction with the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee and the Committee on Women's Athletics, begins conducting diversity-awareness workshops for membership and national office personnel.
July 1994
The NCAA Presidents Commission eliminates a special committee that had been appointed to discuss the possibility of a Division I-A football playoff.
August 1994
Conference commissioners announce a plan to restructure NCAA governance and eliminate the one-school, one-vote principle for Division I.
December 1994
The NCAA and CBS agree on a new $1.725 billion, eight-year television contract.
March 1995
A federal court rules against Brown University in a landmark Title IX case.
April 1995
The NCAA opens its government relations office in Washington, D.C.
May 1995
A federal judge rules that the NCAA restricted-earnings coaching position is illegal. The NCAA and the plaintiffs eventually reach a $54 million settlement.
September 1995
The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education issues a document clarifying the three-part Title IX compliance test.
April 1996
The NCAA launches its official Web site, NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org).
1996
Plaintiffs challenge the legality of Division I initial-eligibility standards.
December 1996
The NCAA reaches a $75 million marketing agreement with Host Communications.
January 1997
The final part of governance restructuring is approved at the Convention. The federated structure takes effect in August 1997.
May 1997
The first NCAA Leadership Conference is held in Orlando, Florida, attracting more than 350 student-athlete leaders.
July 1999
The NCAA national office relocates from Overland Park, Kansas, to Indianapolis.
December 1999
The NCAA reaches an 11-year, $6.2 billion bundled-rights agreement with CBS Sports and ESPN.
January 2000
The Football Study Oversight Committee is formed to examine Division I-A membership requirements, postseason bowl issues and the enhancement of Division I-AA football.
January 2000
The NCAA backs a bill that would ban legal betting on intercollegiate sports.
April 2000
The NCAA announces it will cancel future Association-sponsored events in South Carolina if that state doesn't take action to remove the Confederate battle flag from atop its state capitol.
June 2000
Dempsey receives NACDA's highest honor, the Corbett Award, at the organization's 34th annual convention.
September 2000
The NCAA introduces a new logo as part of an overall brand management initiative.
January 2001
Division II delegates at the NCAA Convention approve sweeping changes in rules regarding amateurism. Divisions I and III make similar but less substantive changes later.
June 2001
The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics produces a second report that seeks action on academic reform, financial pressures and excessive commercialization in intercollegiate athletics.
September 2001
The NCAA Executive Committee authorizes a $5 million donation to establish a scholarship trust for families of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
January 2002
The NCAA holds its Convention in Indianapolis, the first time the annual meeting has been held in the city where the Association is headquartered.
August 2002
The Bush Administration begins a series of public hearings to determine if changes are needed in the way Title IX is to be applied to athletics.
October 2002
The Division I Board of Directors adopts the first part of an academic-enhancement package designed to maximize graduation rates and minimize disparate impact on minorities.
