STORRS, Conn. -- Former UConn men's basketball coach Donald "Dee" Rowe, who served for more than five decades as an ambassador for the school's athletic department and as a mentor for coaches including Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma, died Sunday. He was 91.
Rowe was hired as UConn coach in March 1969 and was on the bench for eight years, leading the Huskies to the round of 16 in 1976. He was named New England Coach of the Year twice, in 1970 and 1976.
After retiring as coach in 1977, Rowe launched the fundraising arm of UConn athletics and played a key role in raising money to build the school's on-campus basketball arena, Gampel Pavilion.