UWF Hall of Famer, former athletic director Richard Berg dies at 81

A pillar from the University of West Florida athletic department has passed away.

Longtime and legendary former UWF Athletic Director Richard Berg died on Wednesday. He was 81.

A native of New York, Berg began his tenure as Argos athletic director in 1988 and maintained that position before retiring in 2007. With him at the helm, UWF athletics ballooned from nine teams and an annual budget of $500,000 to 14 teams and a budget of more than $3 million.

The school also transitioned from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level and the Gulf South Conference in the 1994-95 athletic calendar.

As the department grew, so did the winning. The Argos captured four national championships under Berg's watch: softball (1993), men's golf (2001) and men's tennis (2004, 2005). Additionally, UWF claimed 41 conference titles and were three-time GSC Commissioner's Trophy winners in that stretch.

Berg was elected to the University of West Florida Hall of Fame as part of the 2009-10 Class. In 2014, he was one of 10 people inducted into the inaugural Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame class.

He also has been inducted into the Pensacola Sports Association Hall of Fame (1998) and the Dowling College Athletics Hall of Fame (2000).

Prior to his UWF stop, Berg served as a men's basketball coach at Dowling College and Hofstra University. He earned a M.A. in Sociology from Adelphi University in 1972 and a B.A. in Social Sciences from Mansfield University in 1964. While at Mansfield, Berg played on the basketball, football and track and field teams.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF Hall of Famer, former athletic director Richard Berg dies at 81