Former University of Connecticut Director of Athletics John L. Toner, 91, a major figure in the world of collegiate athletics for more than five decades, died Tuesday, Sept. 23.

During nearly two decades as UConn’s director of athletics, Toner was the prime architect in the development of the intercollegiate athletic program. He added women’s varsity sports to the intercollegiate offerings at Connecticut in 1974, steered UConn from its days as a Yankee Conference member into the Big East Conference as a charter member in 1979, and vaulted UConn football into the Division I-AA ranks.

Toner also hired women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma in 1985, and men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun in 1986 – two leaders who went on to become Hall of Fame head coaches, winning a total of 12 combined NCAA National Championships.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to John that can never be repaid. We became friends. I looked up to him and admired him and he’ll always have a special place in my heart and in my family’s heart,” said Auriemma. “Everyone in the University of Connecticut, in the state of Connecticut and every single person in amateur sports owes him a debt of gratitude.”

Calling Toner “a giant in the world of amateur sports,” Auriemma noted that the growth of women’s sports in this country is directly related to the work that Toner did to help push forward the Title IX bill.

Toner came to the UConn in 1966 when he was named head football coach, a position he served in for five seasons until 1970. Toner’s teams won Yankee Conference championships in 1967 and 1970. He was named director of athletics in 1969 and held the dual role as coach and director until 1970. Seventeen years later, he stepped down as director of athletics, although he continued with the university as a professor in the School of Education, Department of Sport and Leisure Studies until his official retirement in 1988.

In his final years as Director of Athletics, Toner directed the planning, funding and design for Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, which opened in January of 1990 and has become one of the country’s most famous on-campus arenas.

Beyond his reputation in Husky Nation, Toner was one of the most respected and influential figures in the country on all subject matter related to intercollegiate athletics.

Toner’s numerous national activities were highlighted in January of 1983 when he was elected to a two-year term as President of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). In other NCAA duties, Toner was appointed to the NCAA Council in 1977 and served with that steering group until being elected NCAA secretary-treasurer in 1981. He also chaired several NCAA committees, and, after stepping down as president, he was chairman of the NCAA Committee for the Development of a National Drug Testing Policy.

In 1978, a speech by Toner at the NCAA Convention addressing women’s athletics was the driving force behind the association adding women’s varsity athletics programs in 1981.

“All of us have to continue to search and strive for ways we can all help to make the total collegiate athletic experience something to be proud of,” said Toner, upon concluding is term as president. “We’ve got something very special and very unique in college athletics and all of us need to get involved in the process—because it works.”

In other activities during his tenure as UConn’s director of athletics, Toner served as president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC), and the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association.

Numerous regional and national level awards were bestowed on Toner including: the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame; the James Corbett Award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics; a National Citation from the National High School Athletic Coaches Association; a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports’ Writers Alliance; and Honorary Alumnus by UConn. He was also honored by his alma mater Boston University as a Distinguished Alumnus.

In 1997, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame honored Toner as the first recipient of the John L. Toner Award, given annually in his name to an athletic director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities, especially in the area of college football.

At UConn, Toner is the only school administrator inducted into the school’s basketball Huskies of Honor Program that recognizes the all-time key members of the institution’s basketball program.

Toner made two of the greatest hires in college athletics history within a 12-month span—when he hired Auriemma in the spring of 1985 and Calhoun in the spring of 1986.

“John gave me a great start as head basketball coach at Connecticut and through the years he was always available to me for wise counsel and friendship,” said Calhoun.

In May of 1979, although he would always say many university leaders were involved in the decision, Toner had approximately a 72-hour window to accept an offer from Dave Gavitt, founder of the Big East Conference, to have UConn become a charter member of the Big East Conference.

Toner made the difficult decision to leave his long-time New England neighbors and move from a regional athletics program to a national level athletic program. Some 35 years later, boasting18 NCAA National Championships in four different sports, Toner’s vision proved most astute.

“John’s decision to leave his New England neighbors and move Connecticut into the Big East Conference changed UConn Athletics forever,” Calhoun said.

Toner was also largely responsible for the introduction of Divisions I-AA, I-AAA, II, III in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Born May 4, 1923 in North Dighton, Mass., he moved to Nantucket, Mass., in his youth. Toner earned his bachelor’s and master’s at Boston University (BU). He left school for a 42-month tour with the United State Army in the European theatre before returning to BU and serving as the starting quarterback in 1947 and 1948.

Following graduation from BU, Toner served as an assistant football coach with the Terriers, from 1950 to 1954, under his college coach Buff Donelli. He came to Connecticut in 1955 as head football coach at New Britain High School and led the program to state championships in both 1955 and 1956. In 1957, Toner rejoined the college coaching ranks, joining Donelli as an assistant coach at Columbia. He remained in that post until being named the UConn head coach in 1966.

A private family memorial is being planned.