For the past 47 years, the University of Connecticut has been represented around the world by a one-of-a-kind ambassador -- Donald “Dee” Rowe.

Starting in March of 1969, when he was named head coach of men’s basketball at the University of Connecticut, Dee Rowe has enjoyed a remarkable three-part, professional career at UConn, distinguishing himself as the most visible, and most successful, external advocate in the history of the institution.

For eight seasons (1969-1977), Dee Rowe directed the UConn men’s basketball program, winning 120 games, being named New England Coach of the Year twice, directing the Huskies to a pair of NIT berths, and leading the 1975-76 UConn team to the ECAC New England Championship and to the NCAA “Sweet 16”. Coach Rowe’s final victory at Connecticut in 1977 was his 300th as a scholastic and college head basketball coach during a 22-year career (300-132).

In 1978, Dee Rowe launched the fund-raising arm for UConn Athletics, the University of Connecticut Athletic Development Fund (UCADF). For the next 13 years, he became a national leader in collegiate athletic fund-raising, generating millions of dollars to support the mission of UConn Athletics. Dee personally directed the effort to raise more than seven million dollars in private donations to support the building (1987-90) of the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion/Sports Center Complex on UConn’s Storrs campus.

In 1979, Dee’s close personal friendship with Big East Conference founder and Commissioner Dave Gavitt, played a pivotal “behind the scenes” role in UConn’s movement from its New England athletic roots to acceptance as one of seven charter members of the newly-formed Big East Conference.

In 1980, Dee Rowe experienced what he calls “the greatest thrill of my personal basketball life” when he represented his country as Assistant Coach of the United States Men’s Basketball Olympic Team, joining head coach Dave Gavitt and fellow assistant coach Larry Brown as USA Olympic coaches.

For the past 25 years, since his official UConn “retirement” at the end of the calendar year 1991, Dee Rowe has remained actively involved in his emeritus role as Special Adviser for Athletics at the University of Connecticut. His duties include work on major gift fund-raising for Husky Athletics while also utilizing his unique and unmatched wit and wisdom to serve as a mentor in providing wise counsel for individuals he interacts with on a daily basis.

Prior to coming to Connecticut in March of 1969, Dee Rowe served for 14 years (1955-69) as Director of Athletics and head coach of basketball at Worcester (MA) Academy. Coach Rowe built the Worcester Academy basketball program into a perennial power in New England prep school ranks. His basketball teams won nine New England Prep School Championships and he compiled a 180-44 overall record. The basketball court at Worcester Academy, the Donald E. “Dee” Rowe Basketball Court, is named in his honor.

A Worcester native and a 1947 graduate of Worcester Academy where he lettered in baseball, basketball and football, Dee Rowe’s ongoing association and involvement with his scholastic alma mater has continued for some 70 years. He serves as trustee emeritus at the school and continues to assist Worcester Academy in major fund-raising activities. The Rowe Family Scholarship Fund at Worcester Academy annually provides thousands of dollars in scholarship assistance to Worcester Academy students.

A graduate of Middlebury College, Dee added his master’s in education from Boston University.

Dee Rowe has been the recipient of numerous honors during his long and distinguished professional career.

In February of 2007, Dee Rowe was honored as one of the members of the elite inaugural class of inductees to the UConn Basketball “Huskies of Honor.” The Huskies of Honor program pays visible tribute in the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion to the top players and coaches in University of Connecticut Basketball history. Dee Rowe was one of three UConn hoop coaches selected for induction, along with Hugh Greer and Jim Calhoun.

Also in 2007, the University of Connecticut awarded Dee Rowe with the “University Medal”, one of the school’s most prestigious honors established by the Board of Trustees to recognize individuals whose “life and achievements serve as examples of the University’s aspirations for its students” and who “have had a significant influence on the University.”

Dee Rowe has received the prestigious “Gold Key” from the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance, has been inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2014 was honored by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) with its “Lifetime Achievement Award”, recognizing Coach Rowe’s decades of contributions to college athletics and the game of basketball.

ABOUT THE ECAC

In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri.  In the 2015-16 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men’s and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female Players. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.   

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