Former NCAA Secretary-Treasurer Prentice Gautt died March 17 in Lawrence, Kansas, after after being hospitalized for several days with flu-like symptoms.

Gautt, a significant figure in intercoll-egiate athletics for five decades, most recently had served as a special assistant to the Big 12 Conference commissioner, but he also was well-known for being the first Black football player at the University of Oklahoma in 1956.

He came to the school using a four-year scholarship set up by a group of prominent black doctors and pharmacists in Oklahoma City. Less than two months into his freshman year, Gautt's ability had impressed coach Bud Wilkinson enough to return the private money and put him on an athletics scholarship.

Gautt ended up being a two-time all-Big Eight player and 1959 Orange Bowl MVP. During his senior year, Gautt was named to the academic all-America team and eventually earned master's and doctorate degrees in psychology.

After graduating from Oklahoma, Gautt played professionally before joining the staff at the University of Missouri, Columbia, as an assistant coach. He became an academic counselor and counseling psychologist in the Missouri athletics department, eventually earning his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the school.

He joined the staff of the Big Eight Conference in 1979 as an assistant commissioner. He was named associate commissioner in May 1983 and, in June 1994, was promoted to senior associate commissioner. When the Big 12 Conference was formed, Gautt was named as associate commissioner.

Gautt served as an NCAA officer in 1994 when he was the Association's secretary-treasurer under President Joe Crowley.

The Oklahoma Athletics Department Academic Center was named for Gautt in 1999. "His personal example of quiet courage, grace under pressure, and dedication to the university helped open the doors of opportunity for countless numbers of African-Americans and minority student-athletes who have followed him into collegiate athletics," Oklahoma President David Boren said when the center opened.