Yale announced on Tuesday the passing of longtime administrator Wayne Dean, who passed on Sunday, Nov. 8.
He was 65. No cause of death was disclosed.
Dean served the Bulldogs since 1986 and recently retired this past July from his role as deputy athletic director.
Dean had served as the NCAA Hockey Committee chair as well as running numerous regional tournaments. Dean was also the chair of the NCAA men’s and women’ s hockey rules committee the past two seasons.
He was a member of the men’s hockey championship committee from 2001 to 2005, chairing the group during the 2004–05 season. He also served as the co-director of the regionals at the Webster Bank Arena in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018.
During the 2014 Frozen Four held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, he served on the tournament organizing committee. In addition, he served as the tournament co-director for the 2004 women’s Frozen Four.
It is with a very heavy heart that I post this message having just learned of the passing of Wayne Dean. We spent a lot of time together at the Whale and Bowl, and he made it fun. He was a great man with many talents and wonderful sense of humor. We will miss you Deaner!! pic.twitter.com/58R7xzHTgK
— Steve Conn (@YaleSID) November 9, 2020
Yale coach Keith Allain said to the New Haven Register upon Dean’s retirement, “It would be impossible to overstate the value Wayne Dean added to the Yale hockey program. He had a national vision for the program before it became nationally relevant. There is no chance we reach the NCAA tournament seven times and win the national title in 2013 without his contribution.”
Dean served on the board of directors for College Hockey Inc. and the ECAC, and is an ECAC past president.
A 1977 graduate of Lyndon State College, where he is a member of its athletics hall of fame, Dean also earned an MS and CAS from Springfield.
Dean is survived by his wife Betsy and their three children, Amy, Jake and Matt.
