Boston College sports information director Dick Kelley died Thursday night, losing a long battle with ALS. He was 48.
Kelley, a BC alum, had been working in the school’s sports information department since 1991.
“Dick fought the disease with the same passion that he displayed for his job and for life,” Boston College associate athletics director Chris Cameron told ESPN.com. “His death is tragic, but those who love him are comforted by the fact that he died peacefully.”
Sports Illustrated called Kelley “the heart of Boston College athletics” last May, when he was honored with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Courage Award.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who won the Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback during his senior season at BC, expressed his condolences Friday afternoon on Twitter.
[tweet https://twitter.com/M_Ryan02/status/434380177938735104 align=’center’]
