Walt Roberson arrived in °µÍø³Ô¹Ï from Amarillo, Texas, in 1950, set on becoming an Arizona baseball player. While that didn't work out, Roberson went on to become °µÍø³Ô¹Ï's Mr. Bowling over a remarkable career in which he became president of the then-thriving American Bowling Congress and, for 25 years, a significant figure on the UA campus.
Sadly, Roberson died here last week at 95. His sports legacy stands tall.
As the UA's purchasing agent from 1975-85, responsible for athletic department funds, as well as campus-wide purchases, Roberson was in the middle of the UA's rise from the WAC to the Pac-10. A year ago, when the UA athletic department was working on reducing a $39 million debt, Roberson called to talk about how far finances had advanced in UA sports, especially men's basketball.
"When we put out bids to televise the UA basketball games in 1982-83 — ESPN and Fox didn't televise college basketball then — we contacted °µÍø³Ô¹Ï's four TV stations," Roberson remembered. "We only got one reply: KGUN (Channel 9) offered to televise six games, most of them delayed until after the 10 o'clock news, for a total of $10,500. We sought close to $40,000, but because Fred Snowden’s program had run its course and became an also-ran, all we got was $10,500."
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Now the UA and other Big 12 schools pocket close to $35 million per year for TV rights.
Roberson served as the UA's baseball manager during a 1950s period when All-American pitchers Carl Thomas and Don Lee rose to power. He later became director of the UA Student Union and assistant director of the UA Alumni Association.
Roberson was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, in the same class with Steve Kerr. That should tell you how influential he was in the °µÍø³Ô¹Ï sports community. A celebration of his life will be held May 23 at the United Methodist Church, 3001 E. Miravista Lane.
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