Former ASU AD Joe Kearney passes away

Joe Kearney, who served as athletic director at Arizona State University  in 1980, passed away Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., at the age of 83.

Dr. Joseph L. Kearney was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 28, 1927. After serving in the Navy Air Force in World War II, he attended Seattle Pacific University, where he played basketball.

After graduating from SPU, Kearney began a career in education and athletics in the town of Paradise, Calif., before succeeding Fred Miller in the AD's chair at ASU.

Kearney left ASU to become the Commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference (1980-1994), then retired.

Kearney and his wife, Dorothea, had five children and 11 grandchildren.