LAWRENCE — Longtime college administrator Lew Perkins, who served as athletic director at Wichita State University and the University of Kansas, has died. He was 78.
Perkins' family announced his death through a statement issued by KU, where he served as the athletic director from June 2003 through September 2010.
No cause of death was given, though Perkins had been battling the effects of Parkinson's disease. He died Tuesday.
"Lew made an indelible impact on Kansas Athletics and served his role at KU with passion and vigor on a daily basis,” Jayhawks athletic director Travis Goff said in a statement. “We will forever be grateful for his dedication to this university and athletic department. We are thinking of Lew’s amazing family during this time and sending our deepest thoughts and sympathies.”
Perkins grew up in Massachusetts before playing basketball at the University of Iowa from 1965-67 under Hall of Fame coach Ralph Miller. He then embarked on a career in athletic administration at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, where he helped the school grow from a junior college to a four-year school as both athletic director and basketball coach.
He went on to serve as the associate athletic director at the University of Pennsylvania before getting the athletic director's job at Wichita State, which was on NCAA probation at the time.
He was part of the controversial decision in 1986 to end the school's football program in a cost-saving move. But Perkins was also praised for the hiring of successful basketball coach Eddie Fogler.
Perkins left for the University of Maryland in 1987, where the men's basketball program was reeling from the death of star basketball player Len Bias. During his brief stay, Perkins brought in basketball coach Gary Williams, who later led the Terps to a national title.
Perkins spent the next 13 years as the athletic director at the University of Connecticut, where the women's basketball program won four national titles and the men's basketball and soccer programs also claimed championships.
He also was instrumental in the development of the Huskies' football program, which joined the Division I level in 2000 and the Big East a year after his departure.
Perkins is perhaps best known for his time at KU, though.
While he was the Jayhawks' athletic director, their long-downtrodden football program won the 2008 Orange Bowl under Mark Mangino and, months later, the men's basketball national title under Bill Self.
The school's athletic budget soared and significant upgrades were made to Memorial Stadium, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics and other facilities on campus.
Perkins' tenure ended in scandal when, in March 2010, the school announced it was conducting an internal investigation of the athletics ticketing office. A separate investigation by the FBI and IRS led to federal charges against five employees and one consultant and alleged that they had stolen more than $2 million in tickets to be illegally resold.
Perkins announced months later that he would retire, and he stepped away from the Jayhawks in September 2010.
"Lew did a lot of good things in his time here at KU,” Self said. “He was a big contributor in us changing the mindset of the athletic department and also competing for championships on a more consistent level.
“The one thing I will remember most about Lew was he always put the student-athletes first, and the student-athletes that got to know him well, all loved him.”
