College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame
Dee Outlaw, who spent his entire professional career (42 years) working for the University of West Alabama athletics, retired on July 1, 2006. Outlaw began his career at West Alabama (formerly known as Livingstone University) as a student assistant in the office of sports information, serving two years (1972-73) in that capacity before taking on the role of SID for two years as a student. He became the school’s first full-time sports information director in 1975 and held that position for 21 years. At the NCAA Division II school, he publicized an Olympic athlete, more than 40 All-Americans and 200-plus All-Gulf South Conference honorees. Within CSC (CoSIDA), he served on the publications committee for many years.
Outlaw then served a two-year stint as assistant athletic director before taking over as West Alabama’s first full-time athletics director in 1994, serving until 2006. While serving on the NCAA Division II Management Council (2003-06), he also served on the NCAA Olympic Sports Committee. In retirement, Outlaw continued to work part-time as the compliance director from 2006-2016.
He has a current role as the official historian of the University of West Alabama athletics program.
Outlaw was a 2003 inductee into the University of West Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame and in 2014 was a charter inductee into the Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame. Last year, he was a 2025 inductee into the Society of Golden Key, the highest award presented by the University of West Alabama.