A 14-year member of The University of Tulsa athletic department and 10-year NFL veteran, Mike Fanning passed away Sunday at the age of 69.
Fanning joined the TU athletic department in 2009, where he initially worked with group ticket sales. Since 2013, Fanning has served as the special assistant for administration and operations.
"We are saddened by the news of Mike's passing," said Vice President & Director of Athletics Rick Dickson. "He was a tremendous football player at Notre Dame and in the NFL and carried that competitiveness and work ethic into everyday life. He was such a likeable person who worked to help TU athletics achieve success."
A former All-America football player at the University of Notre Dame in 1974, Fanning had a 10-year career in the NFL, including eight years with the Los Angeles Rams and one season each with Detroit and Seattle.
At Notre Dame, Fanning started his junior and senior seasons at defensive tackle and accounted for 164 career tackles. As a senior in 1974, he was a first-team All-America performer as selected by the Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Time and National Enterprises Association (NEA). He also earned second-team accolades from the Associated Press (AP).
Fanning took over as the starting left defensive tackle in 1979 and totaled eight sacks that year. He followed that season with a 10-sack performance in the 1980 campaign and led the Rams in sacks in the strike-shortened 1982 season with five. Fanning helped lead the Rams to Super Bowl XIV (1980).
Prior to the 1983 season, Fanning was traded to the Detroit Lions where he played one year. In 1984, he signed as a free agent with Seattle and had seven sacks as a pass-rush specialist for the Seahawks that season.
Fanning played in 137 career games and finished with 42.5 sacks in his 10-year career.
He was born February 2, 1953, in Tulsa. A retired rancher, Fanning is survived by his son and two daughters.
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