Nov. 17, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 17, 2009 - Ed Czekaj, Penn State Director of Athletics from 1969-80, passed away Monday at The Village in State College. He was 87.
A three-year letterman on the Penn State football team in the 1940's, Czekaj (Check-eye), returned to his alma mater in 1953 and held several positions in Intercollegiate Athletics. He was promoted to Director of Athletics in 1969, a position he held until in 1980. He retired from Penn State in 1982.
The personable and engaging Czekaj was known for his colorful suits and sports coats that he frequently wore to Penn State athletic events while Director of Athletics and after, when he and his wife, Ginny, who survives, retired in State College.
"Ed Czekaj was a fantastic and highly-respected ambassador for Penn State," stated Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics. "He was instrumental in helping Coach Paterno move the football program forward, to set the table for the great success the program had in the 1970's and into the 80's. He oversaw the tremendous expansion of women's sports at Penn State, well before Title IX and the creation of NCAA Championships and other opportunities for female student-athletes. Ed and Ginny continued to be very supportive of all our teams after he retired. Ed was a wonderful person to be around and will be missed."
"There wasn't anyone more loyal to Penn State than Ed Czekaj," said Coach Joe Paterno, who succeeded Czekaj as Athletic Director from 1980-82. " As a player and as an administrator, he was a very, very strong leader of Athletics at Penn State. He was a wonderful person and a good friend."
A native of Mount Pleasant, Pa., Czekaj came to Penn State in 1943 as part of the historic V-12 program that sent servicemen who were athletes back to college until they could be integrated into the armed forces. He was a starting end and the Nittany Lions' kicker in 1943 before going into battle in World War II.
Czekaj returned to Penn State in 1946 and resumed his role as the team's kicker and played offensive and defensive end. He was a senior on the 1947 Penn State team that earned a 9-0 record, posting six shutouts en route to a berth vs. No. 3 Southern Methodist in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. Czekaj, as well as his SMU counterpart, Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker, each missed PAT kicks in the game, which ended in a 13-13 tie. Czekaj and Walker were able to laugh about the missed extra points when they met at later Cotton Bowls and other college football events.
The 1947 squad, coached by Bob Higgins, won the first of Penn State's 27 Lambert Trophies for Eastern football supremacy, and finished No. 4 in the polls. The '47 Lions allowed a mere 3.8 points per game, which remains a school record.
Czekaj earned his degree in physical education in 1948 and worked in the athletic department at Johns Hopkins until 1951, when he went to Korea with the U.S. Marines. He returned to Penn State in 1953 and served as assistant manager of athletics, ticket manager, business manager and Associate Athletic Director into the 1968-69 academic year.
When Czekaj replaced Ernie McCoy as Athletic Director, Penn State was already among the national leaders in women's sports with eight varsity programs. Czekaj was instrumental in further expansion. By 1970, Penn State offered one of the most extensive women's athletics programs in the nation, with 11 sports, two years before Title IX legislation.
By 1975-76, Penn State offered 16 women's sports, six years before the NCAA began sponsoring Championships for female student-athletes. Swimming and diving (1969), track and field/cross country (1975) and volleyball (1976) were among the women's varsity sports Penn State added while Czekaj was Athletic Director.
"As the women's programs were growing, Ed and Della (Durant) oriented all of us to Penn State, the Athletic Department, and in the larger context, women's athletics nationally,"said Ellen Perry, who was the coach of the Penn State women's swimming and diving team as it became a varsity sport in 1969 and later was an Associate Athletic Director at the University. "Ed was a great ambassador for Penn State and helped establish many relationships and friendships with bowls across the country."
During Czekaj's tenure as Athletic Director, he oversaw four expansions of Beaver Stadium, raising the capacity from 46,3284 to 83,770 for the 1980 season. The unique 1978 expansion saw the stadium cut into sections and raised eight feet by hydraulic jacks. Precast concrete seating forms were then inserted within the inner circle of the stadium, where a running track had been located, adding more than 16,000 seats the facility.
Czekaj is survived by his wife, Ginny, two children, Leanne and Randy, and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Madison Czekaj.
The Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc. in Bellefonte is handling the arrangements. A memorial mass will be held Saturday, November 21 at 9:30 a.m. in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the Penn State campus. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Penn State Nittany Lion Club or the Alzheimer's Association.
Czekaj's obituary can be found in the Centre Daily Times.
Information from the Penn State Football Encyclopedia and a Daily Collegian article were used in this story.