In Memory of Joseph "Andy" Rios

December 4, 1954 – November 5, 2007

Sadly, our friend Andy Rios, a Buckeye native and longtime Arizona basketball official who worked in the Pac-10, Big Sky, Mountain West, West Coast and Western Athletic conferences, passed away.

Andy worked games for 27 years in The Tommy Nunez National Hispanic Basketball Classic in the Valley. He was the one guy that every official asked for and hoped to work with. Words cannot do his humor justice as he could brighten the worst of days with his quick wit.

In 1993, Rios was given last rites at a Valley hospital before undergoing a desperation surgery that he was not expected to survive. Thankfully, he did and we were given another 14 years with Andy.

Unfortunately, Andy, 52, passed way from complications of the condition that caused a blood clot, which led to the surgery all those years ago. We have lost one of our best...Andy Rios always had a smile on his face, a quip that made you laugh and he carried the heart of a champion inside of him. Beginning this year, Andy, an elementary school principal, will have the High School Division Most Valuable Player award given in his honor and the trophy will bear his name. You'll be missed, Andy, but never will you be forgotten!