Local college athletics leader and longtime broadcaster remembered
Joe Dean Jr., a familiar voice to Southeastern Conference basketball fans and a central figure in Birmingham-Southern College athletics for more than a decade, has died. He was 71, and his death was announced on X by longtime broadcast partner Tim Brando.
Dean spent 17 years as Birmingham-Southern’s athletics director, from 1999 to 2016, and later served briefly as the college’s senior vice president for advancement before stepping away in 2017 for health reasons. He had been in poor health for several years and recently suffered a stroke, according to Brando’s post.
Coaching roots and national reach
Before his administrative career in Birmingham, Dean built a notable résumé as a coach and broadcaster. He grew up in Baton Rouge and played basketball at Mississippi State in the mid-1970s. He later worked as an assistant coach at Mississippi State and at Kentucky, where he was on staff when the Wildcats won the NCAA tournament championship in 1978.
Dean became head coach at Birmingham-Southern in 1983. During six seasons leading the program, he compiled a record of 137-45 and guided the squad to three conference championships. After a four-season stint coaching at the Division I level with Central Florida, Dean returned to the Birmingham area and transitioned from coaching to administrative and promotional roles, including work as vice president of marketing for an event production firm.
- Age at death: 71
- Birmingham-Southern AD: 1999–2016
- Head coach at BSC: 1983–(six seasons), record 137–45
- Assisted: Mississippi State and Kentucky; part of Kentucky’s 1978 title staff
Broadcasting career and public profile
Outside the college campus, Dean was well known as a broadcaster, calling SEC basketball games on television for nearly two decades. His broadcasting work paired him with Brando and others on multiple networks, giving him a national profile beyond his coaching and administrative accomplishments.
Impact on Birmingham-Southern’s athletic direction
As athletics director, Dean led Birmingham-Southern through a period of significant change that included the college’s move from the NAIA to Division I and later back to Division III. Those transitions involved shifting competitive ambitions, compliance and scholarship structures, and the long-range positioning of the college’s athletics programs.
| Role | Years |
|---|---|
| Birmingham-Southern head coach | 1983 — six seasons |
| Birmingham-Southern athletics director | 1999–2016 |
| Senior vice president for advancement, BSC | 2016–2017 |
Upon his departure from the college administration in 2017, BSC President Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith acknowledged his contributions. She said,
“Joe has been an incredible asset to Birmingham-Southern in every role he has taken on.”
Remembering a life connected to the game
Dean’s life in college basketball included dramatic moments. In the same year Kentucky won the NCAA title, he and his wife, Ellen, survived a plane crash while on a recruiting trip in Tennessee. He later moved into roles that combined athletics, marketing and administration, returning the focus of his career to Birmingham and its college community.
After stepping away from public duties for health reasons, Dean remained in the Birmingham area. His death closes a long chapter that stretched from coaching success at Birmingham-Southern to national visibility as a broadcaster and an extended tenure shaping the college’s athletic direction.
The Birmingham-Southern community, former colleagues, athletes and fans of SEC basketball will likely reflect in the coming days on Dean’s multifaceted career and the imprint he left on the college and the region’s sports landscape.
