Austin College Mourns the Passing of Donnie Duncan
The Austin College community is saddened by the passing on March 12 of alumnus and friend Donnie Duncan, Austin College class of 1962, following a long battle with cancer.
SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College community is saddened by the passing on March 12 of alumnus and friend Donnie Duncan, Austin College class of 1962, following a long battle with cancer. Duncan was inducted was elected to the Austin College Athletics Hall of Honor in 1971 and was also a recipient of the Coach Joe Spencer Award for Meritorious Service and Lifetime Achievement in Coaching in 2004.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. at the Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church Sanctuary. PHPC is located at 9800 Preston Road in Dallas.
Duncan was not only a legendary figure in Kangaroo athletics, but on the national college athletics landscape. The Celeste, Texas native was recently honored by the National Football Foundation with the Legacy Award, the organization's award for lifetime achievement, after a long career as a coach and administrator.
"Donnie Duncan is and will always be an important part of 'Roo Nation," said athletic director David Norman. "He has supported the college, and especially the athletics department with his service to the college as a member of the Athletics Alumni Board, as well as support of our entire department. I share with our entire college the deepest sympathies to his wife, Sally, and their family."
Duncan was a key figure in the merger of the Big Eight Conference and the Southwest Conference, in the formation of the Big 12 Conference, and he served as the associate commissioner and director of football operations for the Big 12 from 1996 until his retirement in 2010. He also served as the athletic director at the University of Oklahoma from 1986 to 1996.
As a coach, Duncan served as both an assistant and head coach at the junior high, high school, and college levels, including serving as an assistant at Oklahoma from 1973 to 1978, and as the head coach at Iowa State University from 1979 to 1982.
Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally (Treadway) to whom he was married for 54 years, as well as his daughter Amy and son-in-law Patrick Reardon, plus two grandchildren - Lexie and Ali. He was preceded in death by his son, Mark.