Rudy Lavik

Rudolph H. Lavik (April 30, 1892 – September 29, 1979) was an American football and basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 1920 to 1921, at Arizona State Teacher's College of Flagstaff—now known as Northern Arizona University—from 1927 to 1932, and at Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe—now known as Arizona State University—from 1933 to 1937, compiling a career college football record of 37–42–7. Lavik was also the head basketball coach at Arizona State Flagstaff (1927–1931), Colorado Agricultural College—now known as Colorado State University (1925–1927), and Arizona State Tempe (1933–1935, 1939–1948), tallying a career college basketball mark of 157–163. In addition he served as the athletic director at Arizona State from 1933 to 1949.[1]

Rudy Lavik

Biographical details
Born	(1892-04-30)April 30, 1892 Forman, North Dakota, U.S.
Died	September 29, 1979(1979-09-29) (aged 87) Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1919	Springfield (MA)
Position(s)	Tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1920–1921	Concordia (MN)
1925–1926	Colorado Agricultural (assistant)
1927-1932	Northern Arizona / Arizona State–Flagstaff
1933–1937	Arizona State
Basketball
1925–1928	Colorado Agricultural
1927–1931	Northern Arizona / Arizona State–Flagstaff
1933–1935	Arizona State
1939–1948	Arizona State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1933–1949	Arizona State
Head coaching record
Overall	37–42–7 (football) 157–163 (basketball)

Early Life

Lavik was born April 30, 1892, in Forman, North Dakota.[2] Both of his parents were born in Norway. Lavik played football, basketball, baseball, and track in college, but he later recalled, “College scholarships were something I had never heard of. My father was a country minister with a salary of $600 a year, a free house and 10 children. All of them went to college, most became professional people and we were used to working our own way.”[3]

Lavik married Ethel Charlotte Larsen on August 24, 1922.

College Degrees

1917 Bachelor of Arts (History and English), Concordia College, Moorhead MN

1920 Bachelor of Physical Education, Springfield College (YMCA), Springfield MA

1937 Master of Arts of Physical Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

In 1917, as a tackle for Springfield playing Rutgers, Lavik competed across the scrimmage line against Paul Robeson.[4].  Lavik’s attendance at Springfield was interrupted by World War 1. He served (1918-1919) as sergeant of the 528th Engineers in France.

College Career

During the 1920-1922 academic years, Lavik returned to Concordia, where he coached all sports. Between 1922-1925 he coached at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In 1925, Lavik moved to Fort Collins, CO to work on the coaching and teaching faculty of Colorado Agricultural College. In July 1927 Lavik attended a coaches clinic in Logan, UT led by Notre Dame coach (and famous Norwegian-American), Knute Rockne.[5]. Also in 1927, Lavik moved to Flagstaff, AZ where he worked as coach and professor for six years.

Tempe, AZ

In 1933, both Lavik and Grady Gammage, the Flagstaff college President, moved to Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe. The student enrollment that year was 875 students. When Lavik retired in 1963 enrollment had grown to 13,765 students and the college had been officially renamed Arizona State University.

Lavik coached Bill Kajikawa, who was hired by the college in 1937 even before he graduated. Kajikawa went on to coach football, basketball, and baseball at ASU for decades (his employment only interrupted by his service in the 442nd Infantry Regiment during WWII). In 1937, Lavik coached Emerson Harvey, the first African American football player at Tempe. Lavik taught Henry Carr, world-record sprinter and winner of the 200 Meter race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Lavik, while in his 70’s, pitched batting practice for the outstanding ASU baseball teams of the 1960’s.

Legacy: Cardiovascular Fitness

In 1977 Lavik claimed, “I’m pretty sure I was Arizona’s first jogger.”[6] Over 50 years he logged more than 20,000 miles continuing to age 85. Lavik was a sought-after public speaker and he preached cardiovascular fitness at every opportunity. When asked to comment on the state of health in America, Lavik opined that Americans, “violate every rule, then ask their doctor for a pill.”[7] Lavik often asserted that, “Cholesterol doesn’t grow in a busy artery.”[8]

Lavik jogged in the first three events of the “Run for Your Life” sponsored by the Phoenix YMCA in 1966, 1967, and 1968. He helped host Air Force Lt. Col. Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, author of the best seller Aerobics (A New Approach to Exercise) on a visit to Arizona.

Always witty, Lavik summed up his career, “My business was physical education and my recreation was coaching. And some people were kind enough to say that some of my teams showed it.”[6]

Lavik died in Mesa, AZ on September 29, 1979.[2]

The Rudy and Charlotte Lavik Memorial Scholarship was established at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.