Before Rutgers lost its NCAA Tournament game Sunday night, it suffered an even greater loss.
Radio analyst and former assistant coach Joe Boylan passed away at the age of 82 after suffering a stroke on Wednesday. Following the team’s 63-60 loss to No. 2 Houston in a Midwest Region second-round game, coach Steve Pikiell broke the news to his players. He started his Zoom press conference offering condolences to the family.
“He will just be really missed,” Pikiell said. “One of the greatest people that I’ve been around. A real just special person.”
Boylan was an assistant coach on the 1976 Rutgers Final Four team and later worked as an assistant athletic director for academic support at the school. He served as the athletic director at Loyola of Maryland for 19 years. In 2005, he returned to Rutgers as a color analyst on the radio for the basketball team.
Senior Geo Baker said Boylan would frequently call him to talk about life and ask how his family was doing. He considered Boylan his biggest supporter.
“Just so much more than just basketball,” Baker said.