Release and photos courtesy of University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) Athletics.
EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to announce that former Sports Information Director (SID)
Jim McKone, an inaugural member of the UTPA Athletics Hall of Honor, and his wife
Geraldine (Jerry), have passed away.
Jim passed away on Sat., July 26 at the age of 80, while Jerry passed away on Sun., July 20 at the age of 83.
They are survived by their daughter,
Kelly Gillespie, and grandchildren,
Cameron and
Allison Gillespie.
A memorial service will be held in McAllen in January. More details will be available at a later date.
Jim McKone spent 30 years as the SID at UTPA, earning the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Lifetime Achievement Award upon his retirement in 1999.
He started at UTPA, then known as Pan American College, in September of 1969. Among his most memorable accomplishments was starting the “Bronc Diaries,” a daily journal about UTPA Athletics that ran in local newspapers from 1987-98, about 2,800 of which were written by McKone. During the first year of the “Bronc Diaries,” McKone filed diaries on 240 consecutive days, causing him to earn a mention in
The NCAA News.
He was president of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association from 1980-81 and was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. After retiring, McKone worked in the Hidalgo County Historical Museum as a public relations officer before returning to UTPA briefly during the spring of 2008 as the interim SID.
Jerry McKone grew up in Brownsville and worked as a reporter for
The Brownsville Herald and then as a proofreader for the
San Bernardino Sun-Telegram in California. In the late 1970s, Jerry began working at what was then Pan American University, serving in the university’s public relations office into the early-2000s.
While working at the same university, the McKones worked as a team, as Jerry helped Jim keep stats at the games and was always by his side. Both were also active in the Pan American retirees association.
“Jim and Jerry McKone meant as much to Pan American as any husband-wife duo in the history of this university,” UTPA Director of Athletics
Chris King said. “Jim’s tireless work ethic and meticulous record keeping are the reason why our archives are as good as they are today. He did a great job of promoting Bronc athletics for 30 years while his wife helped to promote the university. This is a tough day at Pan American. Both are already being missed greatly.”