AFM Home | Back Issues | Oct 2004 | Better Equipped for Life

Jeff Boss touched a lot of people in his 24 years at Louisiana State University. Not only was he a trailblazer in his field of endeavor – athletic equipment manager – he was a kind, gentle soul who always took care of everyone – regardless of their standing in the LSU pecking order.

Boss graduated from McNeese State in his native Lake Charles, La., but it was his time in Baton Rouge that helped cement his reputation as the best in the business. “The world doesn’t have enough people that are as selfless in caring for other people as Jeff Boss,” LSU football coach Nick Saban said last October.

Boss became LSU’s equipment manager in 1980 and didn’t miss a game until Aug. 30, 2003, when the Tigers beat Louisiana-Monroe, 49-7.

Doctors found a tumor in Boss’ brain in January 2003 – soon after the Tigers returned from their 35-20 loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Boss remained undeterred and continued in his duties as equipment manager until June 2003. By that time, cancer had so ravaged his body that he was unable to work.

Boss died on Oct. 27, 2003, but not before members of the LSU community were able to hold a tribute to him. The LSU locker room was named for him Sept. 29, and the football team dedicated the 2003 season to him. Players wore his initials on their uniforms all season, and on the backs of their helmets during the Sugar Bowl. On the day the school dedicated the Jeff Boss Locker Room, Bob Rivet, one of Boss’ best friends and a longtime part of LSU’s medical team, told those gathered that he and Boss would be heading to the Sugar Bowl to see LSU play for the national title.

When the players gave him the game ball after the (Louisiana-Monroe game), Boss said, “Y’all are good, really good.” Boss’ wife, Karen, told the Baton Rouge Advocate, “I can feel there’s a national championship on the horizon.”

As Rivet spoke of the Sugar Bowl, Boss was smiling nearby... in a wheelchair. He had arrived for the dedication ceremony in an ambulance.

Everyone knew Boss’ health was quickly failing, and the odds were very long that Boss would be alive when the Sugar Bowl was played. J.B.’s family, his wife and teen-age daughter B.J., and those in the LSU community wanted to make sure that the object of their affection was able to see his tribute live and in person.

“LSU really kind of hurried and put that day together,” Karen Boss said. “They knew he couldn’t make it too much longer.” In addition to players, family and coaches, many former student managers, Boss’ hires all, spoke of his accomplishments and kindness as a person.

“I’ve gotten so many letters, phone calls, e-mails,” Karen Boss said. “I had no idea of all of the things he did. I am amazed he slept those two hours a night that he slept. I was always proud to say I was married to a man like Jeff. I have so many more reasons now.”

Boss’ sense of humor and purpose were apparent to the very end. At the ceremony, LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert tried to give Boss a team jersey. Boss asked if the shirt had come out of the equipment budget, and didn’t accept it until he found out it wasn’t. Boss said a few halting words: “It’s been a labor of love of people, and these are the people that I love.”

Boss tutored many student managers over the years. And, at the time of his passing, 14 remained in the profession. Boss proteges were working at LSU, Oklahoma State, Tulane, Texas A&M, Texas, TCU and Clemson. Mike Sinquefield, currently the director of football operations at Texas Christian University, is one of those Boss proteges.

“Whenever you needed to speak with Coach Boss, no matter how insignificant your conversation might be, the world would stop,” Sinquefield said. “There was nothing more important to him at that time than your problem or concern, or the conversation.”

This is the common judgment of anyone who spent a significant amount of time with the man. Skip Bertman, a legend in college baseball circles, has ascended to become LSU’s athletic director.

“He was an equipment manager, but it’s hard to put into words what he meant to the (LSU) program,” Bertman says. “He was the best ever technically, but he was beloved. The people he worked for, the people who worked for him, and with him, loved him.

“This guy treated everybody so well. That included athletes, student managers and people he came in contact with on a daily basis. He had this incredible ability to be super positive every day of his life. He’d always say he was ‘great and getting better.’ He was a non-complainer and a positive force as a team builder.”

In addition to his way with people, Boss was an innovator in his field. He was named the Collegiate Athletic Equipment Manager of the Year in 1990, earning the Glenn Sharp award from his peers in the American Equipment Managers Association. Boss was very close with current AEMA president Dale Strauf.

“Jeff would do anything anytime for someone,” Strauf says. “We both had the same philosophy: Whatever it takes to promote the profession and educate the people within the profession to make them better. He earned every significant honor in our profession. I won’t say ‘won,’ I say ‘earned.’”

Strauf said Boss was always working with younger colleagues: “He was the ultimate pro. He’d take time for everyone.

“He was a person of conviction. He was very supportive of people who were genuine. You have talkers and doers; Jeff was very dedicated to the doers.”

Carl Dubois a sportswriter for the Baton Rouge Advocate wrote four stories about Boss.

“I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who worked in a sports organization who was admired as unanimously,” Dubois says. “He was exactly the guy you’d want around if you wanted to build a winning atmosphere. He was always fixing a piece of equipment for a fourth-string walk-on tackle. He was always devoted to making sure everyone on the team had the best equipment.”

Boss even managed to go into equipment design, creating the “Boss Shark” football cleat for Nike. The Boss Shark was designed for larger-sized players and is still available today. Additionally, he was instrumental in developing ‘The Boss’, a new shoulder pad line from Adams USA that combines safety and comfort with a streamlined design.

Says Strauf: “I called about (10 days) before he died, and I thanked him. And he asked ‘for what?’ I don’t even think he realized what he’d done for our profession. That’s because he wasn’t doing it for recognition. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done, but it’s been said that Jeff was the best damn equipment manager ever. I won’t disagree with that.”

“We can get another person to take his place, but it would be impossible to replace the human being that he was,” Bertman says. “Working for him was like working for Vince Lombardi. He put more people into that business than anyone else who ever lived. He raised the position from ‘equipment manager’ to ‘equipment executive.’”

A Proud Legacy: Jeff Boss

LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman on the passing of Jeff Boss last fall: “A part of LSU died today. Jeff Boss was at the heart of everything that LSU stands for. His positive attitude each and every day of the year was an inspiration to everyone who crossed his path. He made LSU a better place to be. The arms of the LSU Athletics Department will always be open to Karen and B.J. and they will forever be a part of our family.”

Head Coach Nick Saban of the National Champion Tigers: “Jeff Boss was the best at what he did. He was without a doubt one of the absolute best people that you'd ever meet. You don't have many chances to meet someone who was as selfless as Jeff. He was always thinking of others and putting their feelings first. That quality above all others is something special that I wish everyone had and I know it would make the world a much better place because it certainly made LSU a better place. Jeff Boss was loved by everyone in our organization and our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to Karen and B.J. and the rest of his family. We are going to miss him.”