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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

NCAA president Myles Brand, 67, loses fight with cancer


Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News

After fighting pancreatic cancer for nearly a year, NCAA president Myles Brand died Wednesday. He was 67.

Brand became a sports figure when, as Indiana University president, he fired basketball coach Bob Knight following the institution of a "zero-tolerance" policy that Brand judged Knight to have violated by verbally confronting an IU student.

Brand subsequently was hired to replace Cedric Dempsey as NCAA president in January 2003. In his NCAA position, he was known for his advocacy of athletes' issues, such as advocating the increase of funds for their emergencies and for championing a more just freshman eligibility process.

Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

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