Tom Jernstedt, the former NCAA executive vice president and the 2010 recipient of the NFF Legacy Award, passed away Sept. 6. He was 75.

"Tom was a dear friend to me, my family and so many others for 40-plus years, and it was with a heavy heart that I learned of the news this weekend," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Since the early 1970s, Tom had been a steady and powerful force in the growth of intercollegiate athletics while playing a pivotal role in expanding opportunities for student-athletes. He was a true pioneer and visionary who was one of the key invisible hands that guided college athletics during the past four decades."

A graduate of the University Oregon and a backup quarterback and an offensive end for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Len Casanova from 1964-66, Jernstedt worked in private business for two years after graduation. He returned to his alma mater in 1969 as an event manager in the athletics department under Casanova who had become the Duck's athletics director.

In 1972, Jernstedt left Oregon to join the NCAA as a director of events, earning a promotion to assistant executive director just two years later. He subsequently held a number of senior-level management positions during the next four decades, culminating in his appointment in 2003 as executive vice president and second in command of the organization.
 
During his 38-year tenure at the NCAA, Jernstedt oversaw Division I Football, and he served as the president of USA Basketball and on the board of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He played a key role in nurturing the growth of the NCAA Basketball tournament from $1 million in revenue and 32 teams in 1972, the year before he ran the tournament, to 68 teams and a $10.8 billion television rights deal the year before his retirement in 2011.

His leadership building the NCAA "March Madness" brand earned him the moniker as the "Father of the Final Four" and induction into Naismith Hall of Fame. He also served on the first College Football Playoff selection committee from 2014-2018, and he will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame later this year. The NFF honored him in 2010 with an NFF Legacy Award, which recognizes individual and organizations who have made extraordinary contributions to the NFF and/or embody its mission. 
 
"A decade after his departure from the NCAA, Tom Jernstedt's fingertips remain visible during March Madness and the Final Four," NCAA senior vice president Dan Gavitt said in a statement. "His innovation and superb ability to develop relationships turned a basketball tournament into a three-week phenomenon that became a global event.

NFF Chief of Staff Will Rudd worked at the NCAA from 1989-99 as the director of special events, developing a close bond with Jernstedt.

"I had the honor of working with Tom for ten years at the NCAA, and he was a mentor to me, providing valuable guidance and counsel." said Rudd. "We remained friends over the past twenty years, and I will miss crossing paths with him. My thoughts and condolences are with his family."