Gene Corrigan, a National Lacrosse Hall of Famer and a pioneer in college athletics, died late Friday while surrounded by family in Charlottesville, Va. He was 91.

Corrigan, the father of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan and N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan, was a two-time All-American lacrosse player at Duke in 1950-51. He went on to coach at St. Paul’s School (Md.) (1952-55), Washington and Lee (1955-58) and Virginia (1958-67).

Corrigan’s most influential years, however, came as an administrator. After stints as the athletic director at Washington and Lee (1969-71), Virginia (1971-81) and Notre Dame (1981-87), he became commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He was the driving force during a period of growth for the ACC, serving in that role for 10 years before his retirement in 1996.

Corrigan also served as president of the NCAA from 1995-97.

“Gene Corrigan was a giant in our industry,” Virginia athletic director Carla Williams said in a  press release issued by the university.

Corrigan, a Baltimore native who spent 18 months in the U.S. Army before embarking on his college career, has been recognized by countless organizations for his service to college athletics. In addition to his National Lacrosse Hall of Fame induction in 1993, he received the National Football Foundation’s highest honor, the Gold Medal, in 1996. Corrigan also is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame (2007) and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2019).

“When Gene hired me at the University of Virginia straight out of graduate school, it was one of the luckiest days of my life,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “That day began a relationship and mentorship that lasted nearly half a century. Simply put, Gene was one of the most remarkable individuals, and leaders, I have ever known. His impact on the ACC and college athletics was profound and immeasurable, only surpassed by his impact on the individuals he positively affected — and there are a multitude of us.”

Corrigan is survived by his wife, Lena, their seven children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

“Since I arrived at NC State, there's hardly a day where someone doesn't tell me about an interaction they had with my father and how it somehow made their day a little better,” Boo Corrigan said in a statement. “He had that kind of impact on people.”

“Gene Corrigan created and realized an incredible life,” Virginia men’s lacrosse coach Lars Tiffany said in a statement. “What an amazing ability he had with making the rest of us smile as he told his stories and shared his eternal optimism.”

“I can tell you that I was intimidated the first time Coach Corrigan walked into my office,” said Dom Starsia, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach who spent 24 seasons in Charlottesville. “He is an icon in our world. It did not take long, however, before his genuine, down-home and friendly manner put me at ease and sowed the seed for our relationship.”

Details on a memorial service are unavailable at this time.