Joe Dean – Converse
Legendary sports personality
Joe Dean, one of the sports world’s most respected personalities and Vice President of Promotions for Converse is known throughout the nation for his ability to motivate people and promote the game of basketball. No one since Chuck Taylor contributed more to the history of Converse than Joe Dean. He traveled more miles throughout the states and overseas than any other rep in the history of Converse Rubber Company. Joe is credited for hiring the all-star promotional staff at Converse that successfully promoted Converse footwear and basketball around the globe.

JOE DEAN CONVERSE STRING MUSIC

Joe Dean (born April 26, 1930) was an All-SEC basketball player for Louisiana State University from 1950-52 and later became the school's athletic director, serving in the role from 1987-2000.

Early life and playing career

A native of New Albany, Ind., Dean was a starter on his high school team at New Albany High School, including a stint as the team's captain during his senior year. Following high school, he chose to attend LSU, where he was a member of the LSU basketball team from 1949 through 1952, earning All-SEC honors three times. He was also a three-time member of the SEC All-Tournament Team, the only player to earn such distinction priot to the tournament's suspension in 1953 (it was later resumed in 1979). In the Spring of 2008, Dean was voted on to the LSU All-Decade Team for the 1950s in an online vote by fans at the school's official website.

Dean was drafted by the Indianapolis Olympians with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 1952 NBA Draft, but instead played for the Bartlesville Phillips 66ers of the National Industrial Basketball League. In the 1956 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 66ers won the tournament and were awarded five players to the U.S. Olympic Team. Dean, despite being fourth on the team in scoring in the tournament, was not one of the five choices. He was subsequently named an alternate to the team.

 Broadcasting career

Dean is most famous for his work as a color analyst for Southeastern Conference basketball games, which he covered for nearly 20 years. He coined the phrase "String Music" and is also known for other phrases such as, "Stufferino in Lexington, KY." During his run, he worked with NBC, TBS, ESPN, TVS and Jeffersn Pilot.

 As athletic director at LSU

Dean gave up announcing in April 1987, when he took over the athletic director post at his alma mater, LSU. He served from April 1987 through the end of the 2000 calendar year, with the LSU's 2000 Peach Bowl victory over Georgia Tech being his last official event as athletic director. During his tenure, Dean oversaw arguably the greatest athletic era in school history. The LSU baseball team won five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000) while the men's and women's track teams accounted for 22 combined, including an unprecedented 11-consecutive NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships by the women's team. At the time of his retirement, the 27 national championships under Dean's guidance were an SEC record.

THe LSU football team won one SEC Championship (1988), two SEC Western Division Championships (1996, 1997) and four bowl victories (1995, 1996, 1997, 2000) in his 14 years. However, Dean will often be remembered for an 11-year span from 1989-1999 in which the Tigers had eight losing campaigns. He also presided over the downfall of the basketball program, which led to the retirement of legendary head coach Dale Brown, the SEC's second all-time winningest coach. Dean hired former Samford head coach John Brady to take Brown's place. After inheriting a program on probation, Brady guided LSU to the 2000 SEC Championship and 2006 Final Four before being fired during the 2008 season.

After Dean's 14 years, he was succeeded in 2001 by Skip Bertman. Dean is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.[3] He is also a member off the LSU Hall of Fame.

 Awards and honors

In the Summer of 2007, Dean was named the 18th most influential person in the history of the SEC by the Birmingham News.The list was created in honor of the league's 75th Anniversary.

 Personal life

Dean is the father of Joe Dean, Jr., a well-respected athletic director at Division III Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala.