IRVING, Texas (March 14, 2016) – Former Big 12 Senior Associate Commissioner for Football Donnie Duncan, a co-recipient of the 2015 NFF Legacy Award, passed away on Saturday, March 12. He was 75.
“We were incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Donnie Duncan,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “He was a great advocate for college football, and we were extremely proud to have been able to honor him with the Legacy Award in December.”
“Higher education and college football have lost a great champion,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Donnie Duncan had a profound impact on the Big 12 Conference. He was a true friend to college football and academics and will be sorely missed.”
Duncan served as University of Oklahoma athletics director from 1986-96, and along with former University of Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds and Hatchell, he played a key role in the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1995. At the conference, he oversaw everything from the selection of officiating crews and negotiating television agreements to ticket sales for the Big 12 championship game.
He served on the College Football Association’s TV committee, and he chaired the NCAA committee that oversaw all-star and bowl games. Duncan also served on a committee that studied the feasibility of a college football playoff. Previously, Duncan served as executive director of the Sun Bowl and the Gator Bowl.
Duncan took his first head coaching job at Honey Grove High School (Texas), where he led the Warriors to two district titles. He later became an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 1973-78, helping the Sooners to two National Championships under Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer. In 1979, he became the head football coach at Iowa State, leading the Cyclones from 1979-82, which included three straight wins against in-state rival Iowa from 1980-82.
Duncan was an all-district quarterback in high school, and he lettered four years at Austin College (Texas). In 1962, he was the college’s most outstanding football player and athlete of the year. Duncan is a member of the Austin College Athletic Hall of Honor.
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Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, PrimeSport, SKP, the Sports Business Journal and Under Armour. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.
