BATON ROUGE — Joe Dean, who has served as athletic director at LSU longer than any person in school history, has announced that he will retire from LSU after July 1 and upon the hiring of a new athletic director.
“I will turn 70 this month and I’ve decided it’s time to look at retirement and turn our LSU athletic leadership over to someone else,” Dean said. “I will stay on board until the chancellor and Board of Supervisors find a replacement and I will help with the transition.
“It has been an honor and an extreme pleasure to have served my alma mater as athletic director for the last 13 years and to have been a part of LSU since my enrollment in 1948 as a student-athlete. There is no greater place in America than LSU, and I truly believe that. LSU is made up of great people and a remarkable tradition. To have been a part of all of this as an athlete and as an athletic director is very humbling.”
The University will begin a search for Dean’s replacement after July 1, a process that could last through part or all of the fall semester at LSU.
“Joe Dean has done a remarkable job in leading LSU’s athletic program. He will be very difficult to replace,” said Chancellor Mark Emmert. “Our athletic program is on solid ground and I am pleased that he has offered to assist us in the transition of leadership in that department.”
During his tenure at LSU, the school has moved atop the Southeastern Conference for most national championships in all sports. LSU has won 33 national championships in its history, with 25 of those coming during Dean’s administration. The Tigers have also won 39 SEC championships in various sports under Dean.
During this athletic year, 14 of LSU’s 20 athletic teams finished their seasons or are currently ranked in the nation’s top 25.
Dean has been acclaimed for his financial management and development of LSU’s athletic physical plant. He kept the LSU athletic program on firm financial ground during a six-year losing skid in the program’s biggest money-maker, football, while expanding and improving Tiger athletic facilities.
In all, LSU has spent over $50 million in the last 13 years on facilities and other capital improvements, while also contributing over $7 million during that time to the academic side of the University.
Fan involvement has been at an all-time high during Dean’s tenure as football set school attendance records during the 1990s and baseball established itself as a perennial national leader in attendance. This year, sellout crowds have returned to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for men’s basketball, and overall sports attendance will top the 1 million mark for the 1999-2000 athletic year.