DALLAS, March 17 (UPI) -- Fred Jacoby, who led several collegiate conferences and served as a commissioner in NCAA Divisions II and III, died of cancer in Dallas. He was 80.
Jacoby died after a 2 1/2-year battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects the bone marrow.
Jacoby led seven conferences in all three divisions during his career, beginning with the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1966. He led the Southwest Conference for 10 years before four of its members left to create the Big 12 Conference. He retired in 2006 from his dual post as commissioner of the Lone Star Conference in Division II and American Southwest Conference in Division III.
Jacoby had a heart transplant in 1989 during his tenure at the Southwest Conference.
He also led the Mid-American Conference in Division I from 1971 to 1982. In addition, he led the Ohio Athletic Conference in Division III for a year before moving to the SWC.
