Longtime college athletic director Bob Marcum has died at age 87

COLUMBIA, SC — Bob Marcum, who served as athletic director at Kansas, South Carolina, UMass and Marshall, has died days after suffering a stroke. He was 87 years old.

The athletic departments at South Carolina, UMass and Marshall announced Marcum’s death Wednesday, a day after his death. Arkansas coach John Calipari, who worked under Marcum at Massachusetts, posted on social media Sunday that Marcum had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke.

Calipari posted about Marcum’s death Tuesday, saying the two spent time together at the hospital.

“We talked about our time together at UMass, him as AD and me as his coach,” Calipari wrote. “We cried and prayed.”

Marcum worked as an athletic trainer at Kansas from 1978-82 before moving to South Carolina for six years. He led the UMass athletic department from 1993-2002, and Marshall led the program until his retirement in 2009.