TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Kenneth A. Free 1936–2022 College Athletic Commissioner, Administrator, U.S. Army
By Aaron Williams
L ongtime College Athletics Administrator Kenneth A. Free, Sr. (Fayetteville-Fort Bragg-Pope AFB Alumni 1973), a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, entered the Chapter Invis- ible on December 29, 2021. Free was a pioneer in recreation, HBCU athletics, and athletics in general. Free, in 1978, became the first full-time commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). On June 8, 1936, Free was born in Greensboro, NC, the son of the late Lee W. Free and Margaret Free. The Free family later moved to Harrisburg, PA, and returned to Greensboro when Free was age 12. Free graduated from Greensboro's historic James B. Dudley High School before entering North Carolina A&T University in the fall of 1954. He left A&T to serve in the United States Army from 1955 to 1958. After his discharge from the Army, Free played baseball in the Negro League for the Raleigh Tigers in 1959. He later played with baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige on the Winston Salem (NC) Pond Giants team. He also played with the Hickory Rebels. In 1961, the expansion New York Mets signed Free and assigned him to the Ra- leigh Caps of the Carolina League and the Salinas Mets. After one year in the minors, Free returned to A&T to obtain his bachelor's degree. Free started his athletic administra- tion career as the Director of the new Windsor Recreation Center before
becoming a Regional Parks Recre- ation consultant for the State of North Carolina Department of Natural and Economic Resources. He was a former Greensboro Parks and Recreation Com- missioner. With his appointment as MEAC Commissioner, Free helped to bolster exposure for athletes at HBCUs, ex- panded the conference to 12 teams, and was instrumental in attaining MEAC member schools NCAA Division 1 status in 1980. Free led the MEAC for 18 years ending in 1996. In 1987, Free became the first Afri- can American appointed to the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Selection Committee which selects teams to March Madness championship basket- ball. Free later served as Commissioner of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1996 to 2006. He was also instrumental in establishing the Freedom Bowl All-Star Classic; and the Heritage Bowl, matching a SWAC team against one from the MEAC, the precursor to what is now the Celebra- tion Bowl. As a result of his dedication to col- legiate athletics, he was named liaison contact official to the American Football Coaches Associations by the University Commissioners Association (UCA). Free served on numerous local and state boards and committees. He has been inducted into the sports halls of fame at North Carolina A&T State Uni- versity (Baseball), Dudley High School, the 2013 Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame, the 2018 class of the South
Atlantic League Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Recreation and Parks Society Hall of Fame, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and the CIAA Football and Basketball Officials Hall of Fame. In Free's honor, Greensboro Parks and Recreation named a new outdoor basketball court and the existing indoor courts at the George C. Simkins Indoor Sports Pavilion at Barber Park. The North Carolina Recreation and Parks Society bestowed its prestigious Fellow Award to Free, the highest award in society. Finally, the North Carolina governor presented Free with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the state's highest civilian honors. In retirement, he volunteered with the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League, helping connect youth from urban areas to baseball. He also vol- unteered weekly at the Piedmont Triad Airport and served as Chairman of the Board with the Major Junior Baseball League (MJBL) for inner-city youth. He was also a member of the Morningstar Masonic Lodge 691. In addition to his parents, Brother Kenneth A. Free, Sr. was predeceased by a daughter, Delana Free, a grandson, Stephen A. Allen. He is survived by sons, Kenneth A (Michelle) Free, Jr. (Alpha Nu 1993), Benjamin (Jerilyn) Free; one daughter, Kimberly Sanders; five grandchildren, Anthony A. Ander- son, Kenneth A. Free, III (Trey), Olivia, Skylar, and Camille Free; one sister, Loretta F. McKee; one brother, Lazelle (Hannah) Free; and a host of relatives and friends.
THE JOURNAL ♦ SUMMER 2022 | 53
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