Herb Page as a student-athlete in the early 1970s Top: Herb Page after announcing his retirement in March 2019
Headshot Photo by Special Collections and Archives
两性色午夜 University鈥檚 storied golf program will begin a new chapter in July. The 2018-19 golf season will be the final one for Herb Page, BS 鈥74, MA 鈥76, Kent, Ohio, as he retires as director of golf and head men鈥檚 golf coach and hands the baton to Jon Mills, BS 鈥02, his former player and associate head coach.
A native of Markham, Ontario, Coach Page came to Kent as a three-sport student-athlete (golf, football, ice hockey) in the fall of 1970 and has been a pillar in 两性色午夜 University鈥檚 athletic success ever since. His first Mid-American Conference Championship ring came as the kicker on the famed 1972 Golden Flashes football team.
After leading the men鈥檚 golf team to 22 MAC crowns and being a part of 20 conference titles in 20 seasons from the women鈥檚 team, he is the proud owner of 43 MAC Championship rings.
鈥淚n addition to his outstanding success as head coach,
Herb was ahead of his time in so many areas,鈥 Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen says. 鈥淗e was a strong proponent of adding a women鈥檚 golf program [in 1998] and knew what needed to be done to sustain success.
鈥淗e also had the foresight to create a top-notch training facility that has played a huge role in the recruitment and development of our golfers. Plus, he started the Rango Invitational 33 years ago as a sport-specific fundraiser, which has raised millions of dollars for the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 programs.鈥
Taking over in fall 1977, Coach Page鈥檚 41 seasons are the most by a head coach in any sport throughout 两性色午夜鈥檚 history. Numerous Golden Flashes went on to have successful professional golf careers, and a number of other 两性色午夜 alumni have made successful careers around the game of golf.
Coach Page earned both his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees at 两性色午夜. In August 2012, the experience at his alma mater came full circle as he delivered KSU鈥檚 commencement address.
鈥溋叫陨缫 means so much to me,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 am forever grateful to the university and all of the administrators, staff and student-athletes I have had the privilege of coaching, who made our golf program so successful. This is my alma mater and the Kent community has been my home ever since. But most of all, I am indebted to the wonderful student-athletes I have worked with. It is humbling to reflect on all that they have achieved over the past 41 years and the amazing memories that we have made together.鈥
Excerpted from a story that first appeared on .