Upon graduating with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics in 1986, Greg served as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Tech until 1987, when he returned to University of Richmond as a graduate assistant coach. Greg earned a Masters of Sports Management from UR in 1989. Beck then served for 21 years as a television and radio analyst for the Spiders’ Basketball broadcast with his friend, Bob Black.

Greg was inducted into the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003 for his individual accomplishments, and in 2006 as part of the 1988 Men’s Basketball Team of Distinction, which was the first UR team to be nationally ranked in the top 20. In 2014, Greg was inducted into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame in Pennsylvania.

Greg spent his professional career in the sporting goods and apparel industry, working at AJD Cap Company and Sports Specialties before beginning a 23-year career at adidas. Upon retiring from adidas, he joined S&S Activewear in 2022.

Greg is survived by his college sweetheart and beloved wife of 31 years, Julie D. McClellan.

His sudden death hit many in the industry hard, particularly since many of us were with him at the NSGA Leadership Conference in Arizona earlier in the week he passed away. The tributes we received for him were many.

“Greg started his mark in athletics at Richmond as a point guard in 1982 and left as the all-time assist leader. Greg’s second career was even more remarkable,” his long-time friend and colleague at adidas, Kendall Whitley, VP–Athletics/Retail, Nations Best Sports, tells TeamInsightExtra. “He was an industry legend, most notably running the East region for adidas for 15 years. During that time adidas team saw amazing growth under his watch.

“As an individual, he was professional, intelligent and very personable,” Whitley adds. “Dealers all over the country looked forward to a visit from Beck. He loved the team dealer industry and was loyal and supportive to all of his customers who all considered him a friend. It is a tremendous loss of a true gentleman.”

TMX reached out to another of his closest friends – Jim Watkins, now with S&S Activewear and another long-time colleague at adidas – for remembrance and thoughts about Beck.

From Jim Watkins: ‘The Beck Effect’

On the late afternoon of May 24th, I was on the phone checking in with a former colleague and one of our past teammates was calling in. That is when I found out the horrible and unbelievable news that Greg Beckwith had had a massive heartache and had not survived. I was numb. I was with him on a long trip to LA and to Phoenix for the NSGA Leadership Conference just a few days earlier. This was not possible. We walked three miles in the desert on Sunday morning. He was pushing me to go farther.

Beck was born March 14, 1964. He had just turned 60 this year. He looked phenomenal for a 60-year-old.  

After getting the news, I had to make one of the hardest phone calls in my life to let one of his best friends, Kendall Whitley, know what I just found out. The three of us just had dinner together the previous Monday evening at the NSGA show. I had been around the two of them for years. I had never seen them so happy and having so much fun together than that night at Shula’s. Laughing and telling stories.

For some reason I took a picture of both of them as we waited to take the elevator down to catch a shuttle. Kendall must have told a joke as Beck was laughing hard.

After getting off the phone with Kendall, my phone would not quit ringing and receiving texts as the news traveled across the country about Beck.

Then my phone rang, and it said Julie Beckwith (Beck’s wife of 31 years) on the caller ID as I stared at it. I did not want to answer it. I knew if I did…then this was real…my boss, my friend, my brother was gone.

Beck was from Uniontown, PA. He received a D1 basketball scholarship from the University of Richmond in 1982. Beck was inducted into the University of Richmond Hall of Fame twice (individually and as member of one of the first giant killer NCAA Basketball Tournament teams, the one that beat Charles Barkley’s Auburn) as well as the Atlantic 10 Conference Hall of Fame and his hometown’s Hall of Fame after his playing career.

After his playing days he was interested in coaching college basketball. He became a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech and then back to Richmond as a graduate assistant where he earned his Masters of Sports Management from UR in 1989.

Beck never left the University of Richmond after first stepping on campus over 40 years ago. After his playing and coaching days, he became the television and radio analyst for the Spiders’ Basketball broadcast for the last 21 years.

Beck and Julie had two beautiful and successful children. A daughter, Brittany and a son, BJ.

After graduation, Beck entered the sporting goods industry. First working for AJD Cap Company and Sports Specialties before moving on to adidas. Beck had an exceptional 23-year career at adidas and retired in June, 2021. Months later S&S Activewear reached out to Beck to see if he had interest in starting a new Team Division for S&S. Beck accepted the challenge and was excited to build a new division from the ground up.

As we all take some time to reflect on how Beck touched each one of us, I believe this is the ideal time to realize the broad and positive impact on everyone he touched. His former teammate, John Davis, who was in Beck’s freshman class at Richmond in 1982, said it best at the celebration of life service. He called it “The Beck Effect.”

The Beck Effect was on full display at the recent Celebration of Life service at the chapel on the campus of the University of Richmond. The Chapel held 750 seats and it was Standing Room Only and the school had to set up two large overflow rooms and live streamed the service for those who could not get in. It was an amazing service.

I first met Beck 25 years ago, while working as a team road salesman for Kratz Sporting Goods in Indiana. Beck would come visit and we immediately connected. I had never met anyone who matched my love of sports, useless sports trivia knowledge and a true burning desire to win.

Beck later brought me on at adidas, where our team had an historic run together for adidas Team Sales. After he retired in the summer of ’21, we stayed in weekly contact over the next year — even going to the Final Four with him in 2022.

After I retired from adidas in late 2022 he asked if I would join him at S&S. And so, I did.

Beck changed my life, just like he did with everyone he touched. No one has ever done more for me and my family.  

For the last 18 months we have been traveling together from coast to coast across the country hitting as many team dealers and dealer summits and trade shows as possible.  

For whatever reason, Beck always drove when got a rental car. He told me a story of what one of his former college coaches would say when everyone got on the team bus to travel to a road game — “Here We Go!”

So, for the last 18 months, when we got in the rental…Beck would yell…”Jimmy, Here We Go!” I loved it. I will miss it dearly.

Now the only problem with getting a rental car with Beck was that I have never seen a human have more trouble getting his iPhone paired up to the GPS system in the rental cars, so I was never sure where we would end up. But we did seem eventually to always get to where we were supposed to be.

He loved this industry. He loved meeting new dealers. He loved spending time with dealers he had relationships with for over the past 25 years. He loved going to the NSGA, NBS and Sports Inc shows every year. He loved the AFCA and NABC Final Four conventions. He loved working with ADs and coaches. He loved talking to vendors. He loved competing. He loved seeing team dealers thrive.

A true testament of the Beck Effect could be easily seen at the funeral when I observed how many of his past adidas and S&S colleagues and team dealers showed up to show respect and to support each other and Julie and the kids. It was powerful.

Beck was a true pioneer in the team sporting goods industry. I believe it gets easily forgotten since Beck had been in the industry so long and he had been so involved with everyone over the years.

If we all take a second to reflect on this fact — when we attend all the industry shows, there are very few African-American, Latinos and people of color in our industry. I know the politically correct environment in today’s corporate world is to have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Have classes…have training…have DEI boards or committees to put a spotlight on awareness. All that seems to be doing is checking a box…and then we move on without doing the one thing that these programs, classes and training are trying to accomplish — change behavior.

For this industry to thrive and move forward, we need to make this industry more inviting and attractive to more people. Beck did that every day.

He always said to me, “It’s not a sprint Jimmy…it’s a marathon.”

For all those who have worked, spent time, and knew Beck, he would only want us to keep pushing forward and being 1% better today than you were yesterday.

Here We Go!!!