College Sports Information Directors of America

Burt Beagle, the legendary official scorer for Baruch College and the CHSAA, died Monday afternoon in the Bronx after battling cancer.   Beagle was in his late seventies.

The timing of Beagle's passing is extremely difficult, as it comes in the middle of the 2007 CUNYAC/Con Edison Basketball Championships, where prior to this year, he had served as the official scorer since 1966.

Beagle had no immediate family, but received a great deal of support from the local community as well as many of the coaches and staff in Baruch's athletic department, where Beagle also served as the school's Associate Head Baseball Coach.   He started the program in the fall of 1969.

"He lived and sacrificed for Baruch Athletics and local high school sports, and it wasn't until he was stricken by cancer that he actually missed a game and was unable to follow local sports scene, said Ray Rankis, Baruch Associate Athletic Director and Men's Basketball Coach. "He worked 930 straight games for the men's basketball team as an unpaid statistician, and he took great pride in Baruch Athletics and the success of the graduates. Burt will be sorely missed, he is a friend, he is a true
supporter, and he is irreplaceable."

Beagle's dedication has been written up over the years in every media outlet, including the New York dailies the Times, Post, Newsday, Daily News, Staten Island Advance, and Faces in the Crowd with Sports Illustrated. Beagle carried a streak of working 930 consecutive games as a statistician for both home and road games for the Baruch Bearcats men's basketball team since 1969. That streak unfortunately came to an end of Tuesday, November 21, 2006, in a home game against Yeshiva University .

The retired accountant and former Sports Information Director was inducted on March 25, 2006, to the New York State Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in Glen Falls , New York , as a contributor to the game.

He had been the Catholic High School Athletic Association's Media Relations Director for more than 30 years, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Burt was also honored in 2002 by the Met Writers Basketball Association at their Annual Haggerty Awards Dinner.

Beagle, a lifelong resident of the Bronx , attended Baruch when it was the business school of the City College of New York . An Accounting major, he graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree.

"Burt was a one of a kind and a great friend and colleague," said CUNYAC Executive Zak Ivkovic.   "He was devoted to serving the student-athletes of CUNY, and I thank him for his devotion.   He will be missed greatly."

Both of Baruch's basketball teams will be competing in the CUNYAC/Con Edison Basketball Championships this week.