Photos and information courtesy of Saint Leo University Athletics
SAINT LEO, Fla. – Retired Saint Leo University and Sunshine State Conference publicist Walt Riddle passed away Thursday after a lengthy illness.
Celebrated as a gifted writer and a transformational figure for both Saint Leo University athletics and the Sunshine State Conference, Riddle first came to Saint Leo’s University Campus in 1989 as the sports information director and special events coordinator. The following year, he assumed the duties of SSC assistant commission
er and sports information director, and helped the conference establish its first central office. Under Riddle’s guidance, the SSC developed one of the nation’s largest NCAA Division II television packages.
Riddle remained with the Sunshine State Conference until 2001, when he returned to his duties as Saint Leo’s sports information director. In 2006, he transitioned to a new role as Saint Leo’s director of athletic marketing and Green and Gold Club coordinator, a job he held until his retirement in 2011.
“The Sunshine State Conference and Saint Leo University lost a friend, leader, and mentor with the passing of Walter Riddle,” said Francis X. Reidy, Saint Leo’s director of athletics. “He had a positive impact on many young coaches and sports information directors around our league. Walt was instrumental in helping Saint Leo athletics transition to its current state of success.”
“Unfortunately, they don't make them like Walt anymore and he will be sadly missed by so many in the Saint Leo and SSC families.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Diane and the entire Riddle family at this very difficult time,” said Reidy.
A member of both the Saint Leo Athletics Hall of Fame (2012) and the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame (2005), Riddle’s affiliation with Saint Leo began in 1989 when he joined the Athletics department after working in the sports section of The Tampa Tribune. Riddle received five Florida state awards for sports writing during his stint with The Tribune, for his coverage of local and state-wide athletics.
“Walt’s passing is a great loss to intercollegiate athletics at Saint Leo University and throughout Florida,” said Saint Leo University President Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. “He devoted his life to athletics and found his passion telling the stories and supporting athletes at Saint Leo and around the state with the Sunshine State Conference. The stories will still be told, but Walt’s passing will leave a void for us who knew him that cannot be filled.”
After graduating from Ohio State, Riddle began his career as a sports writer with several newspapers in North Carolina, and
was honored by the North Carolina Tennis Foundation for his coverage of the sport at the local, state, and national levels. He went on to become the sports editor of the now-defunct Columbia (S.C.) Record, managing a staff of four full-time writers. During his time with The Record, Riddle was honored by the College Football Coaches Association in 1969 for the paper’s reporting on college football.
Riddle was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award and a 25-year Award of Excellence by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in 2011. He was a member of CoSIDA’s Board of Directors from 2000 to 2003, and served as co-chair of CoSIDA’s 1999 convention in Orlando, Fla.
Riddle mentored countless aspiring students and young professionals who had careers in athletics communications, including Jeff Kelley ’06 (former Saint Leo assistant SID and sports information coordinator at Nova Southeastern), Ryan Jones ’08 (assistant AD for Athletic Communications at Florida Tech), Eddie Kenny (former assistant AD at Saint Leo and current Saint Leo director of alumni and parent relations), Michael Farrant ’07 (former Saint Leo assistant SID and current multimedia specialist with Tampa Bay Sports Commission), Evan Ortiz ’04 (former Eckerd College and Saint Leo SID), Dean Watson ’90 (formerly on the sports information staffs at Nevada, Wayne State College (Neb.), Florida Tech, and Stetson), and Fran Reidy (former Saint Leo SID and current athletics director).
Walt Riddle is survived by his wife, Diane, and two sons, Scott and David. Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.