BYU athletics mourns Pete Witbeck

PROVO

— Pete Witbeck, the right hand man of BYU athletic directors Glen

Tuckett, Rondo Fehlberg and Val Hale, died here Wednesday. He was 81.

Witbeck

spent a 47-year career at BYU which included an assignment as assistant

basketball coach to Stan Watts and ended as a senior associate athletic

director.

He served as the BYU

athletic department's NCAA compliance officer, game manager and during

football he was often working as the get-back coach on the sidelines,

keeping players and coaches within the box. He was instrumental in

planning an executing many facets of BYU's sports programs the past 25

years.

A native of Canada, Witbeck

received his bachelor's and master's degrees at BYU and became a

faculty member in the university's department of physical education. He

worked as BYU's freshman basketball coach and accepted a full-time

assistant coaching job with Watts in 1962 where he worked with the

offense and recruiting coordinator.

He

enjoyed fitness and exercise and could be seen jogging around Provo,

working out in the Smith Fieldhouse or running in the pool in the

training room on campus as recent as this winter.

Witbeck is a member of BYU's athletic Hall of Fame. Funeral services will be announced by Berg Mortunary.

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com