Joe Dean Jr. Obituary, BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Joe Dean Jr., a longtime basketball coach, athletics administrator and SEC basketball broadcaster who carried on his father’s broadcasting legacy, has died at the age of 71.
Dean’s connection to basketball began as a player at Mississippi State, where he played for the Bulldogs under coach Kermit Davis Sr. His playing career eventually led him into coaching, beginning with a graduate assistant position at Mississippi State before he joined the coaching staff at Kentucky.
At Kentucky, Dean served as an assistant coach under Joe B. Hall and was part of the Wildcats’ 1978 national championship team. He later took on a head coaching role at Birmingham-Southern, where he coached from 1983 through 1989 and compiled a 137-45 record. During his tenure, the program made two appearances in the NAIA Tournament.
Dean later became head coach at UCF, leading the program from 1989 to 1993 and finishing with a 37-73 record. He also built a career in college athletics administration, including a lengthy association with Birmingham-Southern College, where he ultimately served as athletics director for 17 years.
For many SEC basketball fans, however, Dean became best known for his work behind the microphone. He called SEC games for Jefferson-Pilot Sports, later Raycom Sports, as well as Fox Sports and the SEC Network. He frequently worked alongside broadcaster Tim Brando and became a familiar voice to generations of college basketball fans.
Dean also helped preserve the broadcasting tradition of his father, Joe Dean Sr., one of the SEC’s best-known basketball broadcasters. Joe Jr. popularized the phrase “string music,” a tribute to his father’s famous call. Brando remembered Dean Jr. as “a walking, talking memorial to his legendary father,” noting that he embraced that connection.
Tributes following Dean’s death highlighted the influence he had on players, coaches, colleagues and members of the Birmingham community. The JLab Birmingham Bowl described him as a friend and colleague who served as chairman of community relations for several years and praised his support of Birmingham and the bowl’s history.
Dean Jr.’s life was closely intertwined with college basketball, from his days as a Mississippi State player and Kentucky national championship coach to his years as a head coach, athletics director and SEC broadcaster. His contributions left a lasting mark on the sport and the communities in which he worked. He will be remembered by those who knew him and by the many basketball fans who became familiar with his voice over the years. Condolences go to the Dean family, his friends, colleagues and the many people whose lives he influenced.
