MANHATTAN, Kan. – Max Urick, a 2017 NACDA Hall of Fame and 2018 K-State Athletics Hall of Fame selection, passed away Friday in his home in Manhattan. He was 85.
“Today is a sad day for K-State,” Athletics Director Gene Taylor said. “Max was one of the most respected athletics directors in our history, both institutionally and across all of college athletics, and had such a big impact on our entire University community during his tenure. He continued to support our mission and efforts as a Manhattan resident and personally was a tremendous friend and mentor to me. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lynn and the Urick family during this difficult time.”
Urick’s dynamic leadership, sense of direction and expectation of a high level of professionalism within the department catapulted Wildcat athletics into the 21st Century and as a leader in the Big 12 Conference. He served as the department’s athletics director from 1993-2001 in the midst of Bill Snyder’s well-documented first tenure as football coach.
He was a key player in the development of the Big 12 Conference and its ongoing transition. In doing so, he solidified K-State’s athletic future in one of the premier athletics conferences in college sports. But, as a team player, Urick was always quick to give credit to the many people involved in success at Kansas State.
Under Urick’s guidance, the athletics department made tremendous strides toward stabilizing financial balance while continuing an exciting growth period for athletic facilities at K-State. Urick placed a high priority on gender-equity issues at K-State by implementing several plans to enhance and increase women’s opportunities at K-State. The annual operating budget doubled during Urick’s tenure, proving that the financial health of the K-State athletics department stabilized and thrived under Urick’s direction.
Urick came to K-State after spending 19 years at Iowa State, including 10 as the Cyclones’ director of athletics. He originally joined the ISU staff as assistant athletics director in 1974 and then took over as athletics director in 1983. Before his arrival at Iowa State in 1974, Urick spent 13 seasons as a collegiate football coach at several levels.