Findlay, Ohio – Former University of Findlay head football coach and legendary figure in college athletics Dick Strahm passed away on Tuesday, June 9. He was 92 years old.
"We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Dick Strahm," said Director of Athletics Jim Givens. "Coach, as many knew him, represents an era of excellence for the football program and for this university. He was a ferocious competitor, a dedicated leader, and a spirited ambassador for Findlay who helped cultivate the championship culture we still strive for to this day. While we grieve his passing, we also reflect on his time with gratitude for the impact he made on the lives of so many student-athletes who called Findlay their home. Our thoughts today are with his family as they mourn the loss of an incredible man."
Born in February 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Strahm began his coaching career at the University of Toledo as a defensive coordinator in 1970. He then headed west to Kansas State in 1973 where he spent two years as an assistant coach before eventually landing his position as head coach at the University of Findlay in 1975. Little did he know at the time, but his next 24 seasons would not just be good, they would be legendary.
Coach Strahm's confidence was evident from the beginning. While assembling his first team at Findlay, Dick went recruiting in his hometown of Toledo where he met with Kevin Cassidy. As recounted in the book, Just Call Me Coach, Strahm told Cassidy, "Kevin, if you come to Findlay, we'll win a national championship. If you don't come, we'll win a national championship." That confidence was the basis of what would become a hall of fame career.
Over the next 24 years, Strahm built the Oilers into one of the most successful and respected NAIA college football programs in the country. From 1975 to 1998, he compiled an overall record of 183-64-5 (.736), standing to this day as the winningest football coach in program history. In just his fourth season, Coach Strahm had Findlay playing in its first national championship game. The following year, in 1979, the Oilers brought the program's first national title back to Northwest Ohio.
That was the first of four national championships won under Strahm's leadership. The Oilers also claimed NAIA national titles in 1992, 1995, and 1997. His 1997 team remains the only squad in program history to go a full season without a defeat, capping off a perfect 14-0 campaign.
Throughout his illustrious tenure, Coach Strahm was recognized as a four-time National Coach of the Year and a 12-time District 22 Coach of the Year. His programs were a standard of excellence, producing 13 conference titles, 38 NAIA All-Americans, 16 NAIA Scholar-All-Americans, and one NAIA National Player of the Year.
In recognition of his unparalleled career and contributions to the sport, Coach Strahm was inducted into the University of Findlay Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, he achieved the ultimate honor of being enshrined in the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame.
Prompted by friends to memorialize his football anecdotes and experiences on and off the field, Strahm worked with writer John Grindrod to publish his biography, "Just Call Me Coach," in 2008.
Along with challenges on the football field, Strahm has also met with personal challenges, including four heart attacks, a stroke and cancer. He considers his "greatest victories" to be those over his illnesses. He served as honorary chair of the American Heart Association's Heart Walk in 2007 and received UF's Arch Award for more than 25 years of service in 2009. In 2015, Strahm received an honorary doctorate from the University of Findlay and in 2023, Dick Strahm Champions Field was built on campus, a practice facility that will serve as the training grounds for student-athletes for years to come.
"Many words come to mind when describing Dick Strahm – master motivator, football tactician, charismatic leader, and fighter of indomitable spirit both on the field and in the many doctors' offices and hospitals that have become as much a part of his life as the August two-a-days that were the harbingers to each new season. But, perhaps, the most apt word to describe Dick Strahm is the simplest, winner." - John Grindrod (Author of Just Call Me Coach)
Rest in peace, Coach Strahm. You will not soon be forgotten.
