Keli Scott McGregor (January 23, 1963 – April 20, 2010) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and baseball executive. McGregor played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was president of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB).

Early life and college

McGregor was a multi-sport athlete at Lakewood High School in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

before starring with the Colorado State Rams football team as a tight end. McGregor was a four-year starter at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

. Considered to be an undersized halfback when he arrived on campus, McGregor went from freshman walk-on to a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He grew to 6 ft 8 in and 250 lb, and went on to become an all-Western Athletic Conference tight end from 1982 to 1984. He set a single-season school record with 69 catches in 1983, a mark that stood for ten years. He was voted to Colorado State's all-century team in 1992 and was named to the CSU Hall of Fame in 1996.

Professional career

McGregor was selected by Denver in the fourth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He played for the

and the

during the 1985 NFL season.

Coaching and management

Following his retirement from football, McGregor then embarked on a career in sports administration. While he earned a master's degree in education with an emphasis on athletic administration, McGregor served as an administrative assistant and football coach for two years at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

(1988–89). After his time at Florida, McGregor went to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

for four years (1989–93), elevating to the position of associate athletic director in 1992. He joined Colorado Rockies in October 1993 as senior director of operations. He was promoted to senior vice-president in 1996 and executive vice-president in 1998. He was named president of the team in 2001.

Death

On April 20, 2010, McGregor was found dead at the age of 47 in a

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

hotel room while on a business trip. He was in his seventeenth season with the Rockies, his ninth as club president. Initial indications were that he died of natural causes. Other major figures in the game paid tribute to him as the news of his death became public. On August 30, 2010, it was announced that McGregor died of a rare virus that infected his heart muscle, causing lymphocytic myocarditis. McGregor is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head. During one of the final home games of the 2010 season, the Rockies honored McGregor by placing his initials amongst the retired numbers at Coors Field.

References

External links

Pro-Football-Reference
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Keli 1963 births 2010 deaths American football tight ends People from O'Brien County, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Sportspeople from Lakewood, Colorado Players of American football from Colorado Colorado State Rams football players Denver Broncos players Indianapolis Colts players Colorado Rockies executives Major League Baseball team presidents Deaths from myocarditis