State athletic leader Dr. Kennith Blankenship of Montgomery dies at 88

Dr. Kennith Blankenship – Photo from AHSAA

The AHSAA has announced the death of Dr. Kennith Blankenship of Montgomery at the age of 88.

Blankenship died after an extended illness on Sunday, July 21.

“Our hearts are heavy,” said retiring AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs. “Dr. Blankenship and his wife Betty Joy have been important members of the AHSAA family. His leadership in so many different areas has made a world of difference to our student-athletes for many years. Our prayers and love go out to his family – and especially his wife Betty Joy.”

The AHSAA says from the time he stepped onto the football field as an athlete at Wetumpka High School in 1950 until he finally retired from active service more than six decades later, Blankenship personified the definition of leadership.

His career began at Shorter High School in 1959. His teaching/coaching career took him to A. G. Parrish High School in Selma in 1961 where he served as athletic director, head football and track coach. He remained until 1966.

He then spent 23 years with the Alabama State Department of Education in several leadership roles involving health and physical education. He continued his passion for athletics as a college basketball official for 20 years and a high school and college track official for 30 years.

Blankenship also served as Athletics Director at Troy University overseeing the school’s move into Division I-A.

In 1996, he became the first Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association and was responsible for the creation of the Alabama High School All-Star Sports Week. He also played a key role in establishing the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame.

He was the first Executive Director of the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Scholarship Program serving from 1989 to 2010.

Incoming AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon said, “It has been mentors like Dr. Blankenship that have inspired so many to become coaches and teachers,” Harmon said. “His legacy lives on in the hearts of so many who have become educators. We are forever indebted to him for his inspiring leadership and service.”

Dan Washburn and Steve Savarese, former AHSAA Executive Directors, went by to visit with Mr. Blankenship last week, they said. “I am so glad we did,” said Washburn. “He has meant so much to all who knew him.”

Dr. Blankenship was honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame board of directors when they selected him Distinguished Alabama Sportsman, an honor bestowed on only 20 individuals since the ASHOF honored its first Hall of Fame Class in 1969. Blankenship commented on that honor at the 46th ASHOF induction banquet in 2014.

He found the honor flattering and humbling.

“I have had the opportunity to be around a lot of great people in every phase of my life,” he said. “I have been blessed. My family has been blessed.”

Blankenship was a four-sport star at Wetumpka High School serving as captain of the football, basketball, baseball, and track teams his senior year in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954-56 as a member of the 101st Airborne and 8th Infantry Division. He attended Troy State University where he played football and basketball until a knee injury curtailed his career. He got his Education degree in 1959, his Masters in 1961 and completed his Doctorate in Education in 1977.

He recalled fondly the impact on his life of men like Wetumpka Coach Jack Ray, Selma’s Elliott Speed, his fellow soldiers in the 101st Airborne, and great leaders Cliff Harper, Bubba Scott, Dan Washburn, Dr. Jack Hawkins, and his dear friends Larry Striplin, Jr., and Bill Legg.

Blankenship was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, received the prestigious Citation Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), chaired the Central Alabama Sports Commission, served as a member of the International Olympic Educational Committee and represented the United States in the 1980 Olympic Training Session in Olympia, Greece.

The shining moment, however, came in 2010 when the Bryant-Jordan Foundation named the state’s Bryant-Jordan Achievement Award in honor of Blankenship and his wife Betty Joy.
Scott Myers, CEO and Executive Director of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and current chairman of the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Scholarship Program, worked closely with the Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship for several years.

“We are saddened by the news of the passing of Dr. Kennith Blankenship,” said Myers. “He was a wonderful person who did so much for the many student-athletes all across our State. The impact he made while serving as Executive Director of the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Program, along with his wife Betty Joy, will continue to resonate for many years to come.”

The shining moment for Ken came in 2010 when the Bryant-Jordan Foundation named the state’s Bryant-Jordan Achievement Award in honor of Blankenship and his wife Betty Joy.

“Betty Joy and I worked side by side with the Bryant-Jordan program all those years,” he remarked at that time. “I got a lot of credit, but she was the one who really deserved it.”

The memorial service for Dr. Blankenship will be Monday, July 29, at First United Methodist Church Montgomery, 2416 W. Cloverdale Park, Montgomery. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m., with the Celebration of Life service at 11 a.m., with Alabama Heritage Funeral Home officiating.

— Information from AHSAA