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After an extended illness, former Troy University Athletic Director Dr. Kenneth Blankenship passed away on Sunday, July 21 at the age of 88.

Blankenship was a star football, basketball, baseball and track athlete at Wetumpka High School in the 1950s and went on to join the military as a member of the U.S. Army’s 101^st Airborne and 8th Infantry Division. He also played football and basketball at Troy University before a knee injury ended his career prematurely. He earned an Education Degree Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Education.

Blankenship coached at Shorter High School and AG Parrish High School, also serving as athletic director Parrish High. He worked for the Alabama State Department of Education for more than two decades and was also a college basketball official for 20 years.

Blankenship became Athletic Director at Troy University in 1992 and oversaw Troy’s move from Division II to Division I athletics. He became the first Executive Director of the AHSAA Directors and Coaches Association in 1996, where he oversaw the creation of the AHSAA All-Star Sports Week and AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame.

Blankenship also served as the executive director of the AHSAA’s Bryant-Jordan Scholarship until his retirement in, 2010. Blankenship was inducted into the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Troy University also established the Blankenship Award in his honor. This scholarship is presented to a outstanding senior athlete who attends graduate school.

A memorial service for Blankenship will be held at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery on July 29 beginning at 10 a.m.