1928-2020 Baltimore native, NCAA head dies

Corrigan was the ACC commissioner for 10 years

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and NCAA President Gene Corrigan has died. The Baltimore native was 91.

The league said Saturday he died “peacefully overnight surrounded by his family” in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Corrigan, a lacrosse star at Duke and later a coach at Virginia, was the ACC’s third full-time commissioner, serving from September 1987 until retiring in December 1996. While he was commissioner, the ACC added Florida State as its ninth member.

Corrigan, a 1946 graduate of Loyola High, served as NCAA president from 1995-97 and also worked as athletic director at Virginia and Notre Dame before becoming ACC commissioner.

“His impact on the ACC and college athletics was profound and immeasurable, only surpassed by his impact on the individuals he positively affected — and there are a multitude of us,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford, who succeeded Corrigan as the ACC’s leader. “I will miss him immensely, but I am so grateful to have had him as a mentor, boss, friend and colleague for so many years.”

Corrigan’s son, North Carolina State athletic director Boo Corrigan, said in a statement Saturday that his father “led a remarkable life.” He described him as someone who valued his family while working “in a profession where you can quickly lose sight of what’s most important.”

“Since I arrived at N.C. State, there’s hardly a day where someone doesn’t tell me about an interaction they had with my father and how it somehow made their day a little better,” Boo Corrigan said. “He had that kind of impact on people.”

Gene Corrigan is survived by his wife, Lena, seven children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1993.

His son Kevin is the head men’s lacrosse coach at Notre Dame and son Tim is ESPN’s senior coordinating producer.

The ACC said details on a memorial service are incomplete.

Corrigan