Cedric Warren Dempsey (April 14, 1932 – April 5, 2025) was an American sports administrator who became the third executive director of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) from 1994 to 2003. Before leaving the post in 2002, Dempsey restructured the organization, cracked down on gambling in college sports, emphasized financial responsibility, and negotiated major television contracts with

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and CBS. Dempsey served as the athletic director at the University of the Pacific (1967–1979),

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(1979),

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

(1979–1982) and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

(1983–1993). Dempsey's tenure at Arizona was noted for raising the university's national prominence in NCAA sports, particularly in basketball, football, softball and golf. He also served as Commissioner of the All American Football League (2007–2010). Dempsey died in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on April 5, 2025, at the age of 92.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Cedric 1932 births 2025 deaths Albion Britons baseball players Albion Britons football players Albion Britons men's basketball coaches Albion Britons men's basketball players American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats athletic directors Baseball players from Illinois Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois College cross country coaches in the United States Houston Cougars athletic directors National Collegiate Athletic Association people Pacific Tigers athletic directors People from Gallatin County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois San Diego State Aztecs athletic directors 20th-century American sportsmen