PHILADELPHIA – Penn Athletics was saddened to learn of the passing of Fred Shabel over the weekend. Shabel was the University's Director of Athletics from 1967-75, and during his tenure the programming was updated to a status that it still holds today, the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA).
 
It was under Shabel's watch that women's sports became varsity programs at Penn, and among the facility upgrades that happened during his stint at AD included the lighting in Franklin Field, Astroturf being put down on Franklin Field, and the track being converted to a Tartan surface at the home of the Penn Relays.
 
In addition to his duties as Penn's AD, Shabel was Executive Director of the Penn Relays; Director of Philadelphia's Big 5; a steward at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Regatta; President and Chairman of the ECAC Television Committee; a member of the IC4A Executive Committee; and a member of the ECAC Holiday Basketball Tournament Committee. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
 
A basketball player at Duke, Shabel became Penn's AD at the age of 35 after a successful four-year stint as head men's basketball coach at the University of Connecticut. The Huskies went 72-29 during his coaching tenure, winning four Yankee Conference titles and advancing to three NCAA Tournaments.
 
After his eight-year stint as AD, Shabel was named a Vice President for Operational Services at the University which included planning, construction, security, publications, buildings and grounds, and auxiliary services. He left the University in 1980 for a job with Spectacor (now Comcast Spectacor), eventually moving into a Vice Chairman position. Right up until the last months of his life, however, he was still a regular presence at the Hecht Tennis Center where he had a weekly game with friends.
 
Service information will be updated as it is available.