Mike Lude

Mike Lude
Biographical details
Born(1922-06-30)June 30, 1922[1][2]
Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 2024(2024-03-14) (aged 101)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1946Hillsdale
Baseball
1945–1947Hillsdale
Position(s)Catcher (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1948Hillsdale (line)
1949–1950Maine (assistant)
1951–1961Delaware (line)
1962–1969Colorado State
Baseball
1948–1949Hillsdale
1950–1951Maine
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1970–1976Kent State
1976–1991Washington
1992–1994Auburn
Head coaching record
Overall29–51–1 (football)

Milo Ralph Lude (June 30, 1922 – March 14, 2024) was an American college football and baseball coach who became a college athletics administrator. He played football and baseball at Hillsdale College, where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He served as the head coach at Colorado State University from 1962 to 1969, compiling a record of 29–51–1. Lude was the head baseball coach at Hillsdale College from 1948 to 1949 and at the University of Maine from 1950 to 1951. He served as the athletic director at Kent State University (1970–1976), the University of Washington (1976–1991), and Auburn University (1992–1994).

As athletic director at Kent State, Lude offered Don James his first head coaching job in 1971; the two later worked together for fifteen years at Washington.

Lude went skydiving for the first time at the age of 93. In 2021, Lude stated that he planned to do the same for his 100th birthday.[3] He died in Tucson, Arizona, on March 14, 2024, at the age of 101.[4]

  1. ^ "Milo Ralph Lude collection". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Mike Lude, longest serving AD in Husky history, still going '90 miles per hour' at 98". Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  3. ^ Hanson, Scott (February 5, 2021). "'An unbelievable life': Mike Lude, longest serving AD in Husky history, still going '90 miles per hour' at 98". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Hanson, Scott. "Longtime UW Huskies athletic director Mike Lude dies at 101". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024.