Lifting up Tim Griffin’s family

We lost a dear friend and one of the country’s most respected and beloved sports writers on July 8 when Tim Griffin passed away after a bout with cancer. Tim was a fixture in the world of Big 12 football and touched fans, colleagues, administrators, coaches and players with his genuine, honest and informed approach to his reporting and story-telling. A journalist for more than 30 years, Tim spent most of his career at the San Antonio Express-News and was the 2010 president of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He most recently was with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. I met Tim nearly 20 years ago when we served as correspondents for ESPN.com, Tim covering the Big 12 and me the SEC. He was an incredible teammate and always willing to help and an even better friend. He leaves behind his wife, De De, and their 17-year-old son, Brad. We’re putting together this fund to help with Brad’s education costs or however they need to use it. Tim loved what he did for a living and loved his family. We talked often late at night about our sons after moving full time to ESPN.com as part of the conference blogs. It was an honor for so many of us to call Tim a friend.