Friends, Family, Colleagues Remember Bob Frederick

Video of the June 17 Memorial Service is located at Jayhawk All Access at — http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=kan&media=129888

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A crowd of some 1,700 filled the Lied Center on the University of Kansas campus Wednesday afternoon to remember former KU Athletic Director Bob Frederick.

Frederick, who served as athletics director at the University of Kansas longer than anyone except the legendary Forrest “Phog” Allen, died last Friday evening of injuries suffered in a bicycle accident the evening before. He was 69. A private inurnment will take place at a later date.

Katie Martincich of the KU volleyball team, spoke on Wednesday.

Representing current students and student-athletes, KU volleyball player Katie Martincich, called Frederick a friend, role model and mentor.

“He genuinely cared about his students,” she said. “His knowledge and experience taught us more than any text book could.”

Other speakers included former Iowa State and Kansas State Athletics Director Max Urick, KU Volleyball Coach Ray Bechard, and Frederick’s four sons.

Ray Bechard, Head Volleyball Coach At Kansas spoke on behalf of current and former coaches.

Frederick became KU’s 12th athletics director in June 1987 and served in that position until July 2001. His 14-year tenure is the second-longest for a Kansas A.D., behind Allen’s 19 years. Since August 2001, Frederick had taught in KU’s Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Science in the School of Education, and for two years served as department chair. He specialized in sport management, sport law and sport facilities.

In 2001 Kansas Athletics named its Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards after Frederick. The awards are presented annually to the top male and female senior scholar-athletes at KU.

“On behalf of the entire Jayhawk nation, I offer my sincerest condolences to Bob Frederick’s family and friends,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “Bob was a class act who led by example, the epitome of good sportsmanship and ethical conduct. He has been a role model for countless student-athletes and educators, and KU is a better place because of him. Bob, his wife, Margey, and his sons Brian, Brad, Mark and Chris, and the rest of his family are in our thoughts and prayers.”

“Bob Frederick was an outstanding collegiate athletics administrator and, more importantly, a terrific human being, a loving husband and a great father,” said KU Athletics Director Lew Perkins. “For him to be named chair of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee shows how widely respected he was in his field. And yet for all his success, his trademark was his sincere caring for student-athletes and coaches. He continued that legacy of caring into his work on the KU faculty. We will all miss him.”

Under the direction of Frederick, Kansas teams won 32 conference championships, a national title in men’s basketball in 1988 and produced 41 Academic All-Americans. During the 1992-93 academic year, Kansas became the first school to win a football bowl game, reach the men’s basketball Final Four and advance to the baseball College World Series in the same school year.

While KU’s A.D., Frederick served as the chair of the prestigious NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in 1995 and 1996.

Frederick oversaw more than $50 million in facilities upgrades in his final 10 years as athletics director, including a $35-million renovation of Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse.

A Jayhawk for most of his career, Frederick earned all three of his degrees from KU – a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1962, a master’s degree in secondary school administration in 1964 and his doctorate degree in educational administration in 1984. He served as director of the Williams Educational Fund at KU from 1981-85. Prior to becoming KU athletics director, Frederick served in the same position at Illinois State from 1985-87.

Frederick played basketball at Kansas in 1960-61 under head coach Dick Harp. He was a KU assistant basketball coach under Harp from 1963-64 and later under Ted Owens in 1971-72.

He coached basketball at Rich Central High School in Illinois from 1964-66, Russell High School in Kansas from 1966-70, Coffeyville Community College from 1970-71 and Lawrence High School from 1977-81. He was an assistant coach at Brigham Young University from 1972-75 and Stanford University from 1975-77.

In 2001 Frederick received the NIT Distinguished Service Award. In 1997 the National Association of Basketball Coaches presented him with the Cliff Wells Appreciation Award for outstanding contributions to college basketball. That same year he was presented the Buford M. Watson Public Service Award by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. The NIT named him Man of the Year in 1996.

The Frederick family has announced that Frederick donated his organs and they encourage others to become organ donors.

Bob Frederick Facts

Born: March 4, 1940 in St. Louis, Mo.

Wife: Margaret

Four sons: – Brian, Brad, Mark and Chris

Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, minor in social studies from Kansas in 1962

Master’s degree in secondary school administration from Kansas in 1964

Doctorate degree in educational administration from Kansas in 1984

1964-66 – Kansas assistant basketball coach

1966-70 – Russell (Kansas) High School basketball coach

1970-71 – Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College basketball coach

1971-72 – Kansas assistant basketball coach

1972-75 – Brigham Young assistant basketball coach

1975-77 – Stanford assistant basketball coach

1977-81 – Lawrence (Kansas) High School basketball coach

1981-85 – Kansas Assistant Athletics Director, Executive Director of Williams Educational Fund

1985-87 – Illinois State Athletics Director

1987-2001 – Kansas Athletics Director

2001-present – Kansas Assistant Professor, Health, Sport and Exercise Science