Ex-Miami U. AD Paul Dee dies at 65

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CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 14 (UPI) -- Paul Dee, the University of Miami's athletic director from 1993 to 2008, died at age 65, the university said. .

The university did not give a cause of death, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Dee died Saturday. The Palm Beach Post said he had recently been hospitalized for cancer treatment and had undergone open-heart surgery in 2008.

"The entire University of Miami community is saddened by the loss of Paul Dee," UM president Donna Shalala said in a statement.

The Sun-Sentinel said Dee had overseen the Hurricanes' move from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference and played a role in the building of the BankUnited Center, the basketball arena on campus.

During Dee's tenure, the Hurricanes won a national football title in 2001 and two national titles in baseball (1999 and 2001).

Dee, a UM alumnus, was on the faculty of the UM School of Education and Human Development and an adjunct professor in the School of Law.

He had also served as vice president and general counsel since 1981, was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and was a member of the Iron Arrow Society, the university's most prestigious honor, UM said.