Paul ‘Herky’ Rubincam Jr., former player, coach and administrator at Penn, longtime director of the Big 5, and veteran, has died at 89

Paul “Herky” Rubincam Jr., 89, of Philadelphia, former player, coach, and administrator at the University of Pennsylvania, longtime executive director of the storied Big 5 men’s college basketball association, and veteran, died Tuesday, Feb. 7, of heart failure at his home in Palm City, Fla.

Mr. Rubincam graduated from Penn’s Wharton School of Business in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and never really left the university until he retired more than three decades later. He played basketball and baseball as a student, was an assistant coach on the men’s basketball team for three seasons, and served as assistant dean of admissions, director of conferences, director of alumni affairs for the Wharton School, director of athletics and recreation, and director of special gifts development.

After all that, he was executive director of Big 5 men’s basketball for 11 years. Penn officials called him a “gigantic figure in our history” on Twitter, and Alanna Shanahan, Penn’s current director of athletics and recreation, said in a tribute that Mr. Rubincam’s contributions to the school and Big 5 were “profound.”

“There are few Quakers who had five decades of service to our great university like Paul did,” Shanahan said.

A collegial catalyst and prolific fund-raiser who made things happen behind the scenes, Mr. Rubincam enriched campus life in West Philadelphia as Penn’s assistant dean of admissions from 1962 to 1970, director of conferences from 1970 to 1974, and director of alumni affairs for the Wharton School from 1974 to 1985.

He hired coaches and supervised the sports programs as athletic director from 1985 to 1993 and later raised critical funds as director of special gifts development from 1993 to 1996. He was so unassuming in every job he held that he thought he was being asked to serve as master of ceremonies at Penn’s 2019 athletics hall of fame event when he was actually invited as one of the honored inductees.

He was also inducted into the Coatesville High School hall of fame in 2006, and the Lawrenceville School hall of fame in 1998. “He just went about being who he was and getting things done,” a former Penn colleague said in a tribute. “He was a factor in countless lives through his relationships and his work. That’s his legacy.”

As athletic director, Mr. Rubincam increased Penn’s annual fund-raising campaign for sports to nearly $3 million. He directed the multimillion-dollar renovation of its athletic facilities, added varsity golf to its 30-team intercollegiate program, and elevated women’s soccer to varsity status.

He was especially applauded for hiring men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy, football coach Al Bagnoli, and wrestling coach Roger Reina. They combined for 27 Ivy League championships and made the Quakers national powers in those sports.

As executive director of the Big 5 from 1996 to 2006, he guided the sometimes-contentious confederation of local colleges through the choppy waters of divergent interests, scheduling conflicts, declining attendance, and other challenges. “There was a lot of pressure,” he said in a 2019 interview. “I guess I did sort of handle it.”

Born Sept. 22, 1933, in Abington, Paul Rice Rubincam Jr. grew up in Coatesville, worked at his father’s gas station, and got the nickname Herky, short for Hercules, as a boy because he thought he was as strong as the mythical hero and his two sisters marveled at the number of neighborhood admirers he could attract with his oversized persona.

“He was someone people wanted to be around,” said his son Peter.

He was an all-state basketball player at Coatesville, a star postgraduate player for two years at Lawrenceville, and captain of the basketball team at Penn as a senior. He was drafted into the Army for two years when he was a junior at Penn, served in Germany, and starred for Army post basketball and baseball teams.

He met Penn student Penny Cook when he returned from the service, and they married in 1962 and had sons Paul III and Peter, and daughter Lindsay. They lived in Mount Airy, Wyndmoor, and Blue Bell, and later wintered in Florida.

Mr. Rubincam was a lifelong golfer who also played tennis and squash at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. He liked to fish in Maine and listen to the music of John Denver, the Four Aces, and Elton John.

He showed interest in practically everyone, was a good listener, and enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren compete from the sidelines. His motto was: Don’t be afraid to fail.

He had plenty of chances to take other jobs across the country over the years, but Philadelphia wouldn’t let him go. “Penn is a very special place,” he said in 2019. “It pretty much gave me everything. … I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Rubincam is survived by six grandchildren and other relatives. Two sisters died earlier.

A celebration of his life is to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to the Penn Champions Club, Office of the Treasurer, P.O. Box 71332, Philadelphia, Pa. 19176, and the Lawrenceville School Alumni Fund, P.O. Box 6125, Lawrenceville, N.J. 08648.