Ex-college football coaching icon Gerry Faust dead at 89
Former Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust passed away on Monday at the age of 89, according to his family.
In a statement, the Faust family said, 'It is with tremendous sorrow that we announce the passing of Gerry Faust, loving husband, father, grandfather and coach who dedicated his life to his family, his faith and the teams and players he coached.
'Throughout an extraordinary life driven by an unwavering and deep devotion to his catholic faith, he was a beloved mentor to countless young men both on and off the playing field.
'His work ethic, optimism, leadership and humility were legendary. He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, compassion, and inspiration, reminding us all of the extraordinary impact one life can have.
'While most knew him as a coach, we will long remember him as a wonderful father and grandfather who inspired us through example to live our best lives.'
Gerry Faust, the former head coach at Notre Dame and Akron, has died at the age of 89
Faust's rise to one of college football's most prestigious positions came after building an empire in Ohio high school football at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati.
From 1962 to 1980, Faust essentially built up the program from scratch and transformed Moeller into a perennial powerhouse.
Faust won all five of his Ohio state championships and all four of his high school football national championships within the last six seasons of his tenure.
A devout catholic, Faust held strong that the only position he would ever leave Moeller for was Notre Dame.
After Fighting Irish head coach Dan Devine stepped down from the program in South Bend, Indiana in 1980, Faust got the call and took the job of a lifetime. It led to a national outcry after a high school coach was elevated to, at that time, the top college football job in the country.
He opened his tenure at Notre Dame - which earned the nickname 'The Bold Experiment - with a victory at home over LSU in the 1981 season opener. That win led the Fighting Irish to get voted No. 1 in the polls.
But the high of the win was short, as Notre Dame fell to Michigan the following week. The Fighting Irish finished the season 5-6, their first losing season in almost two decades.
After building a high school powerhouse, Faust was controversially given the top coaching job in college football in 1981 when he was handed the reins to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Faust, seen here with his players, during a game against LSU in Baton Rouge, LA in 1984
Faust hung on in South Bend until the 1985 season. In that time, some highlights included wins over ranked rivals Miami and Pittsburgh (ranked No. 1 and led by Dan Marino) in 1982, a Liberty Bowl victory against ranked rivals Boston College in 1983, and a win over ranked LSU in Death Valley in 1984.
Faust managed three winning seasons in his time in South Bend, crashing out in 1985 with a 5-6 campaign that featured a demoralizing 58-7 season-ending loss to Miami in one of the worst defeats in school history.
Prior to that game, Faust tendered his resignation effective at the end of the season.
His successor at Notre Dame was then-University of Minnesota head coach Lou Holtz, who would last ten years at the school and won their most recent national championship in 1988.
After compiling a record of 30-26-1 at Notre Dame, he took over the head coaching job at the University of Akron in Ohio as the school transitioned to becoming a Division I-A (known today as the FBS) program.
He lasted nine years at the school before being fired in 1994 after going 1-10 in his last season and compiling a record of 43-53-3.
From there, he worked at Akron as a fundraiser until his eventual retirement in 2001.
