Post by rainman on Oct 5, 2007 5:58:47 GMT -5
Ex-Mountaineer SID Ron Steiner dies
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Ron Steiner of Louisville, Ky., a former sports information director at West Virginia University, died at 7 a.m. Thursday in Cleveland Clinic.
He was 55 years old.
Joe Steiner, also of Louisville, said his brother had undergone a heart transplant operation there.
“He came through that all right,” he explained. “But very suddenly a problem developed with an infection and he died this morning.”
Ron Steiner was widely known and highly respected in collegiate sports circles, having served public relations stints at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Miami, and the University of Louisville.
A native of Gibsonia, Pa., he graduated from WVU’s Perley Issac Reed School of Journalism in May 1973. He served two years as an assistant sports information at Pitt, then returned to Morgantown.
He headed the SID operations for WVU from 1975-79 before going to Miami. He was the Hurricanes’ chief publicist in 1983 when they captured the national championship in football.
When legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger left Miami to become head coach at Louisville, he took Steiner with him.
Eventually Steiner resigned as the Cardinals’ SID for football. Then he became publisher and editor of the Louisville Sports Report, an excellent weekly newspaper publicizing all U of L sports
Because of failing health, he sold the newspaper a year ago, but he continued to write on a free-lance basis.
Steiner never married.
Funeral services are incomplete.
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Ron Steiner of Louisville, Ky., a former sports information director at West Virginia University, died at 7 a.m. Thursday in Cleveland Clinic.
He was 55 years old.
Joe Steiner, also of Louisville, said his brother had undergone a heart transplant operation there.
“He came through that all right,” he explained. “But very suddenly a problem developed with an infection and he died this morning.”
Ron Steiner was widely known and highly respected in collegiate sports circles, having served public relations stints at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Miami, and the University of Louisville.
A native of Gibsonia, Pa., he graduated from WVU’s Perley Issac Reed School of Journalism in May 1973. He served two years as an assistant sports information at Pitt, then returned to Morgantown.
He headed the SID operations for WVU from 1975-79 before going to Miami. He was the Hurricanes’ chief publicist in 1983 when they captured the national championship in football.
When legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger left Miami to become head coach at Louisville, he took Steiner with him.
Eventually Steiner resigned as the Cardinals’ SID for football. Then he became publisher and editor of the Louisville Sports Report, an excellent weekly newspaper publicizing all U of L sports
Because of failing health, he sold the newspaper a year ago, but he continued to write on a free-lance basis.
Steiner never married.
Funeral services are incomplete.
