Michael Wadsworth, 60; Lawyer, Envoy, Athletic Director at Notre Dame

Michael Wadsworth, 60, who spent five tumultuous years as Notre Dame’s athletic director before stepping down in 2000, died Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The cause of death was not announced, but Wadsworth was diagnosed last year with bone and bladder cancer.

A native of Canada, Wadsworth attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship and graduated with a degree in political science in 1966. He played five years for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, and was rookie of the year in 1966.

After leaving Notre Dame, Wadsworth earned a law degree in Canada and established a distinguished career in law, broadcasting and government. He was appointed Canada’s ambassador to Ireland by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in August 1989.

Wadsworth returned to Notre Dame as athletic director in 1995. When Lou Holtz resigned as football coach after a highly successful tenure, Wadsworth replaced him with defensive coordinator Bob Davie, a choice that was unpopular with fans as the Irish football team struggled.

Wadsworth was also in charge of the school’s athletic programs when it was placed on probation by the NCAA in 1999 for recruiting violations.

But Wadsworth also helped negotiate Notre Dame’s five-year, $45-million television contract with NBC to broadcast the school’s home football games.

After resigning under pressure in 2000, Wadsworth resumed his law practice in Canada.

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Adam Shand Kydd, 49, stepbrother of Britain’s late Princess Diana, died in Cambodia of a suspected drug overdose, the British Foreign Office announced Wednesday in London.