Former Oklahoma Senior Associate Athletics Director Gerald Gurney died last Wednesday, Feb. 23, the university confirmed via press release late Friday evening. Gurney was 70.
Gurney announced his retirement from OU in December, accepting the title of professor emeritus after serving the university for nearly 30 years in a variety of roles.
A longtime supporter of paying college student-athletes beyond academic scholarships, Gurney shared his sentiments about name, image and likeness with The Daily twice within two years of the NCAA's decision to allow NIL earnings.
OU mourns the passing of former Senior Associate Athletics Director Dr. Gerald Gurney, who led athletics' academic and student life areas for the better part of 20 years.
— Oklahoma Sooners (@OU_Athletics) February 26, 2022
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Gurney, a distinguished and decorated athletics administrator who cared deeply for and had a profound impact on the many, many student-athletes he served at Oklahoma," Sooners athletics director Joe Castiglione said in Friday's release.
From 1993-2011, Gurney worked in the athletics department, supervising the student life center, academic services and sports medicine. He continued teaching at OU thereafter, heading courses on athletics in higher education, athletics academic reform and ethics in athletics.
Gurney was president of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) from 2010-11 and of the Drake Group from 2014-16. He also researched and wrote for several higher education journals and co-authored the book "Unwinding Madness: What Went Wrong with College Sports and How to Fix It," published in 2017.
In 2006, N4A presented Gurney with the Lan Hewlett Award, one of its most prestigious honors. The Drake Group named its service award after Gurney and made him its first recipient in 2021.
Gurney began his career in athletics as an academic counselor at Iowa State before becoming assistant athletics director for academic affairs at SMU. He also worked at Maryland as associate athletics director for academic support and compliance and was later assistant to the provost there.
Gurney earned his English education degree from Ohio State in 1973 before completing a student personnel work and counseling master's degree there in 1976. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in higher education from Iowa State in 1980.
"Beyond the vast number of lives he touched within our athletics department, he was also an accomplished professor who loved to share his deep intercollegiate athletics knowledge with his students, and he will be greatly missed by so many," Castiglione said of Gurney in the release. "Our prayers and sincerest sympathies are with his wife, Dr. Debra Stuart, and daughter, Dr. Rachel Gurney."
