Bill Steinman, longtime Columbia athletics official, dies
NEW YORK (AP) - William C. Steinman, the longtime sports information director of Columbia University, has died. He was 77.
Steinman, a member of Columbia University's Athletics Hall of Fame, died Wednesday night at Mount Sinai Morningside, the university said Thursday. He had used a wheelchair in recent years following a series of illnesses.
'œBill's passion for Columbia was second to none,'ť Athletic Director Peter Pilling said. "Bill touched the lives of so many Columbians - from student-athletes and staff members to the countless members of his student staff that he mentored, many of whom remain involved with our athletics program."
A graduate of Hofstra, Steinman was nicknamed Stats. He was head statistician of the American Basketball Association's New York Nets and was hired by Columbia in 1970 in the start of a four-decade career.
He spent 14 years as assistant to sports information director Kevin DeMarrais, then took over as department head in 1984 during the time Columbia launched a women's athletic consortium with Barnard.
Among the athletes he promoted were Major League Baseball player Gene Larkin; NFL player Marcellus Wiley; Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Cristina Teuscher; Columbia baseball pitcher Rolando Acosta, currently presiding judge of the New York State Supreme Court's appellate division for the first department in Manhattan; and Columbia rower George Yancopoulos, president of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
His tenure spanned four athletic directors, eight head football coaches and eight men's basketball coaches.
'œHe was a consummate professional that you could always depend on,'ť former athletic director M. Dianne Murphy said. 'œHe was truly a gentle and kind soul, and a wonderful person to engage in conversation. I admired him so much for doing everything behind the scenes in such an unassuming and quiet way."
Steinman received a lifetime achievement award from the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2010. He was indicted into Columbia's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
His brother Jim, the Grammy-winning composer who wrote Meat Loaf's chart-topping 'œBat Out of Hell'ť debut album, died in April.