sdsu-campus-beauty

Dr. O. Kenneth Karr Jr.

TitleDirector of Athletics
Induction Year2012
Sport(s)Director of Athletics
Dr. O. Kenneth Karr Jr.

Appointed in July 1969, was the first athletic director to manage the athletic department as a major university enterprise and not as just as a part of academics, which had been the case since the "modern" sports program were established in 1921 ... Drew up the initial major college schedules for football and basketball, securing game contracts with "major" conference institutions ... Negotiated the Aztecs move into the Western Athletic Conference ... In charge of the University's transition of the women's intercollegiate sports program from the old WAA into Athletics ... Helped SDSU gain membership into the exclusive College Football Association and its lucrative television contacts, a difficult undertaking in the 70's ... Responsible for securing the 1974 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and obtaining the NCAA certification for the first Holiday Bowl.