Mike Vasconcellos was friends with some of the Goliaths of athletics.

But it was his work as architect of what Sports Illustrated described as the greatest upset in college basketball history — Chaminade’s victory over then-No. 1 Virginia in 1982 — that put a small Honolulu Catholic school on the proverbial map.

Vasconcellos, Chaminade’s athletic director for parts of three decades through the 1990s, died on Monday at an Ewa Beach care home. Friends said he was 69 years old.

"He was a risk guy, always looking to the stars," former Chaminade coach Merv Lopes said. "He had a vision."

Richard Haenisch, a former Chaminade forward, praised Vasconcellos for his "ability to market us as a school and basketball program. He’s the reason Chaminade’s success came about. He had a vision, and put it together."

Chaminade was set to be renamed "Honolulu University" when Vasconcellos convinced Virginia to play the Silverswords during a stopover following the Cavaliers’ trip to Japan. With McCabe Gym deemed too small, Vasconcellos worked out an arrangement for the game to be played in the Blaisdell Arena.

In a holiday-season outcome for the ages — it was dubbed "Miracle on Ward Avenue" — the Silverswords defeated a Virginia team led by 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson and Rick Carlisle (now the Dallas Mavericks’ head coach).

While news spread nationally the next day, Vasconcellos and Lopes returned to work in the wooden office known as the "Shack." Vasconcellos was buddies with NFL coaches Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil, and approachable to Chaminade players, who always called him "Mike."

At Chaminade, finances were so austere Vasconcellos forged several side deals, such as convincing hotels to donate towels. After the game, the towels were collected, washed and then used in the dormitories.

"He had a reputation for doing things in unorthodox ways," said Mark Rodrigues, a former Chaminade point guard. "He worked hard. He knew how to work it — how to make it work for the school and Hawaii."

Of the secrets behind Vasconcellos’ creativity, Haenisch said: "We wanted to eat the omelet. We didn’t want to see him breaking the eggs."

Chaminade subsequently upset Louisville and Southern Methodist. Those victories led to the creation of the Maui Classic, now named the EA Sports Maui Invitational, an ESPN-televised staple on Thanksgiving week.

"Without Mike Vasconcellos, Chaminade wouldn’t have accomplished what it accomplished," Rodrigues said.

Vasconcellos was a star quarterback at Saint Louis School who went on to play football at Santa Clara. After several coaching jobs, he returned to the grounds shared by Saint Louis and Chaminade.

"He did everything," Lopes said. "I lost a good friend."