Rutgers-Camden mourning the death of its ‘fiercely loyal’ AD Jeffrey Dean

The Rutgers-Camden community is mourning the loss of its athletic director Jeffrey Dean, who according to a statement from the university died in his home on Monday. He was 58.

Dean held numerous positions in the recreation and athletics departments of the Scarlet Raptors over a 31-year career at the university. In 2003, he was named interim athletic director following the retirement of longtime AD Edward Cialella.

That season, the Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball team became the first Raptors program to reach the NCAA Division III Tournament and Dean became the university’s fifth athletic director.

“Rutgers University-Camden and the New Jersey Athletic Conference have lost a cherished friend and tireless colleague,” read a statement on the university’s website. “Fiercely loyal, supportive, and proud of his student-athletes, staff, and the Rutgers-Camden community, Dean took over an athletic department featuring 12 intercollegiate varsity programs, as well as a variety of club and recreational services.”

Dean also was instrumental in securing new facilities, most recently the 2022 opening of the Camden Athletic Complex, the home of Rutgers-Camden baseball and other sports.

He was also a member of several NJAC committees and was the chairman of NJAC’s baseball committee, an homage to his early days as the head baseball coach at Rutgers-Camden from 1994-98.

According to the university statement, funeral arrangements were pending.