Nick Rodis, Brandeis' director of Athletics from 1967 to 1984, died last Friday at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital at the age of 87.

"He was the guy who turned Brandeis Athletics around," men's soccer coach Mike Coven said. "Prior to him, they were awful. The University didn't really care much or put any importance on college athletics. He came in, and by the mid-1970s we might have had the best all-around Division III program in the country. … And that's when people in the University realized the importance of college athletics and the positive rewards that a good athletics department could bring to Brandeis."

Rodis, an inductee to the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000, helped found seven women's varsity sports during his time at the school. He also was at the helm of the University's only two NCAA Division III Championships, which were won by the men's soccer team in 1976 and the men's cross country squad in 1983. In total, 29 varsity teams qualified for the NCAA Championships during Rodis' reign.

As director of athletics, Rodis hired four current varsity head coaches: Coven, Denise Dallamora for women's soccer, Pete Varney for baseball and Bill Shipman for men's and women's fencing. Rodis also hired women's basketball coach Carol Simon as an assistant coach; Jim Zotz, who is now the assistant director of Athletics, as the coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams; and Brandeis Athletics Hall of Famers Bob Brannum for basketball and Tom O'Connell for baseball.

"He was a very straightforward guy. ... He was old school and there were no politics, no gray area. He told you what he thought, but he was very loyal to Brandeis," said Shipman, in an interview with the Justice.

After leaving Brandeis, Rodis helped fundraise for the construction of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center under then-President Evelyn Handler.

In 2010, Rodis was awarded the James Lynah Distinguished Service Award by the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, which is given to ECAC athletic administrators who have been successful and made significant contributions to collegiate athletics.

Before coming to Brandeis, Rodis was an All-American in baseball and football at Harvard University, where he was centerfielder and lineman. After graduating in 1949, Rodis was a football, baseball and basketball coach at the American International College and the University of Connecticut in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1962 to 1967, Rodis served as a special assistant for athletic programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the State Department under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Additionally, Rodis was president of several prestigious organizations, including the American Council for International Sports, the United States Collegiate Sports Council, the New England Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Greater Boston Conference.

Rodis is enshrined in the Nashua High School Hall of Fame, the National Association of Director of Athletics Hall of Fame and the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association Hall of Fame, in addition to the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame.

—Jeffrey Boxer contributed reporting.