Information as of 2000: Ken Blair had an unbelievable athletic career in high school, junior college and four-year college. Ken graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1961 and earned eight varsity letters in three years. In football he was selected All-Conference and was selected to compete in the Colorado All-State game. In addition to football, he lettered three years in basketball and track. He started the final two years in basketball, was CO-captain his senior year, was leading scorer and rebounder his senior year and was selected All-Conference. In track he competed in the state tournament all three years. He was the state champion in the long jump his senior year and placed in the high jump.
Ken played two years at Mesa Junior College as a quarterback, halfback, wide receiver, safety, and cornerback. He was the leading scorer during his sophomore year and was dubbed the "60 minute man" by the press. Ken was selected second team All-American as a quarterback and defensive back his sophomore year. In track during his freshman year, he was the leading scorer and won the Empire Junior College championships in the high jump and long jump. At the NJCAA nationals he participated in four events, taking fourth in the long jump with a leap of 23'4", breaking the school record by over eight inches. Immediately upon his return from the track championships, he qualified as one of Mesa's four team members for the national golf championships and left immediately for Joliet for the NJCAA national championships. He competed in the 72-hole tournament for Mesa as the team placed 12th in the nation.
At CSU, Ken competed in both indoor and outdoor track and became the all-time point's scoring leader in track. He also started at cornerback and safety for two years in football. As a senior Ken was awarded the Nye Award, given to the top CSU athlete.
After graduating from CSU in 1965, Ken joined the Air Force (1967-1971), then earned his master's and doctorate degrees from Arizona State University. From 1976-1986 he was a professor of business at Northern Montana College. From 1986-1992 he was department chair and professor at Western State and has been a professor at Mesa State since 1992, also having served as dean.
Ken and his wife, Shirley, reside in Grand Junction and have two sons, Dave and Steve.
