Leland Byrd

Leland E. Byrd (born April 8, 1927[1]) is an American former college athletic administrator, basketball player and coach. He was an All-American player at West Virginia University (WVU) and went on to serve as athletic director at several universities.

Leland Byrd
Byrd from the 1973 Monticola.
Biographical details
Born (1927-04-08) April 8, 1927
Lynch, Kentucky
Playing career
1944–1948West Virginia
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1953–1955Hinton HS
1955–1966Glenville State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1962–1966Glenville State
1966–1969Miami Dade North Campus (assistant AD)
1969–1972Miami Dade South Campus
1972–1978West Virginia
1979–1984Atlantic 10 Conference (Exec. Dir.)
1984–1992Western Michigan
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
First-team All-American – Helms (1947)

Born in Lynch, Kentucky,[2] Byrd grew up in Matoaka, West Virginia and played high school basketball for his father at Matoaka High School. He enrolled at WVU in 1944, and because of a shortage of players due to World War II he was able to play as a freshman. Byrd enjoyed a four-year college career for the Mountaineers, earning All-America honors from the Helms Athletic Foundation as a junior in 1947.[3] Following his graduation in 1948, he was drafted by the New York Knicks in the 1948 BAA draft, though he did not play for the team.

His first coaching job came at Hinton High School in his native West Virginia. From there he was hired as head basketball coach at Glenville State College and was named the school's athletic director in 1962.[4] He then moved to a teaching position at Miami Dade College's north campus, which was quickly expanded to include assistant athletic director duties. Three years later, he was named athletic director of the school's south campus. In 1972 he was named athletic director at his alma mater WVU, replacing Red Brown.[2] In 1979, Byrd was named as Executive Director of the Eastern Eight Conference (which became the Atlantic 10 Conference during his tenure).[5] Byrd then became athletic director at Western Michigan where he served from 1984 to 1992.

Byrd is a member of the WVU and Glenville State athletic halls of fame.

References
  1. "WVU men's basketball All-Americans" (PDF). WVUSports.com. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  2. "Leland Byrd no stranger to WVU sports scene". Charleston Gazette-Mail. September 10, 1972. p. 89. Retrieved November 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "All-American cagers picked". Press & Sun-Bulletin. April 25, 1947. p. 29. Retrieved November 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Byrd accepts Dade position". Pensacola News Journal. May 20, 1966. p. 25. Retrieved November 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Eastern Eight clips Byrd's wings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 22, 1979. p. 22. Retrieved November 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
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