Former Athletics Director Canham Passes Away at 87
5/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
• Memorial Arrangements and Family Statement
• U-M Health System Statement
• Complete Biography
• Don Canham Timeline
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The legendary marketing genius of college athletics, former University of Michigan athletics director Donald Burrell Canham, 87, passed away this afternoon (Tuesday, May 3) at the University of Michigan Hospital following surgery to repair a ruptured, or burst, abdominal aortic aneurysm.
A visionary and a leader in the field of intercollegiate athletics, Canham served as Michigan's athletic director from 1968-88, pioneering the idea of progressive marketing and promoting of collegiate athletics. Under his watch Michigan football began a stretch of 186 consecutive crowds in excess of 100,000, beginning in 1975 and running through the just completed 2004 campaign.
During his tenure Michigan athletic teams won 72 Big Ten championships. An important voice in the arena of collegiate athletics, Canham served on a multitude of Big Ten and NCAA committees during his tenure, including the NCAA Television committee during the 1970s which helped to significantly increase the popularity of college sports.
One aspect of Canham's success as an athletic director was his vast experience in athletics as a student-athelete earning an NCAA national championship in the high jump in 1940. He became Michigan's head coach in track and field in 1949 where he would remain until his appointment as the fifth athletic director in Michigan history in 1968. Michigan track and field won 11 Big Ten indoor and outdoor as well as one cross country title in his tenure.
Don is preceded in death by wife, Marilyn (Bunny), and survived by wife, Margaret. Survivors also include brother Robert and his wife Donna Canham of Decatur, Ill., his son Don Canham Jr. and daughter Clare (Canham) Eaton and her husband Don, grandchildren Amelia and Don Eaton, stepdaughters Karla Schoemer and Kirsten Roberts and her husband Shawn, and step-grandchildren Aaron, Allison and Joslin.
Q U O T E S
Mary Sue Coleman, U-M President (2002-present)
"Don Canham was a giant in the history of intercollegiate athletics at Michigan. His contributions are many, and they continue to shape the experiences of student-athletes at the University. As a U-M student, coach and administrator, he exhibited the values of integrity and sportsmanship. Don was an outstanding ambassador for the University of Michigan, and he will be deeply missed."
Bill Martin, U-M Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
"With the passing of Don Canham, Michigan has lost a true legend. The entire Michigan family extends its condolences to Don's extended family. He was a gifted athlete, coach and administrator and excelled in all roles. It was only two weeks ago we honored Don with the Gerald R. Ford Award, the highest honor given a former student-athlete who epitomizes excellence in scholarship, sport and society during our annual Academic Awards Banquet. He was truly honored to receive the award and we were honored to award it to him. On a personal note, he was always available to me and helpful as a counselor."
Bo Schembechler, Former U-M Football Head Coach (1969-89)
"This is hard for me, I never thought of him dying, I thought he'd go on forever. We are going to miss Don because people still went to him for advice. I worked for him for 21 years without a contract! That's how much faith I had him in. I coached Michigan without ever a thought I'd get fired because he stood behind me. I was hired at Michigan by him and him alone. I had a lot of faith in him and he had a lot of faith in me, and together we produced a pretty good team. And the success I had at Michigan, I would share equally with him."
Wayne Duke, Former Big Ten Commissioner (1971-89)
"I am totally stunned. Don and Peg were in our home just last week and we had a great visit after dinner, reminiscing about all the good days with our collegiate and Big Ten experiences. Likewise, it is totally ironic that just today I received a book on the NCAA's 100th anniversary in which Don pays homage to my old boss, Walter Byers, the first NCAA Executive Director: 'He's a complex character. He is a great leader. A perfectionist and he had unquestionable integrity and great vision. He is loyal to the organization and to his friends and foes. He is tough. He will be revered, respected and remembered.' Don well could have been saying that about himself, for he fit all those adulations. No two persons -- Walter and Don -- had greater personal or professional influences on me personally, as well as the countless others privileged by such association."
Lloyd Carr, U-M Football Head Coach (1995-present)
"We have lost a giant at Michigan and we will miss him. Mr. Canham was a remarkable man and his legacy will endure."
Ron Warhurst, U-M Men's Cross Country and Track Coach (1974-present)
"He gave me a chance in college coaching without experience. He was the most influential college athletic director in the past 50 years. Besides being a great AD and boss, he was a great person. He will be sorely missed among his peers, friends and family."
James Henry, U-M Women's Track and Field Head Coach (1984-present)
"Don hired me as the head women's track coach with no previous college coaching experience. I would not be where I am today without him taking a chance on me. I was young and enthusiastic and he allowed me to learn on the job and develop the program into the success it has become. He was a person who was always there to give sound advice. We had many conversations on his theories on how to build a championship track and field program -- get the best athletes available and develop them into a strong team. Champions are made from bottom to top."
Red Berenson, U-M Ice Hockey Head Coach (1984-present)
"Don Canham was a visionary athletic director, ahead of his time. He was responsible for building the Michigan athletic department as we know it today. He did a great job of finding the coaches and allowing them to coach their programs. We are going to miss a great friend of Michigan."
Jim Richardson, U-M Women's Swimming Head Coach (1985-present)
"I have so much respect for him. When he hired me, he was so frank and straight-forward. And that's the way he was whenever you communicated with him. Lots of people saw him as purely a businessman, but he'd always ask about my family.
"I owe him so much for the opportunity to coach at Michigan. He had the opportunity to hire others with more experience but he hired me and I will always be grateful. Obviously, he was a very special man.
"In the last 2-3 years I've made a point of stopping over to see him. We spent 20 minutes, half an hour, just chatting about things in general, about college athletics. Obviously he's a giant in college athletics. He was a smart, smart businessman."
Carol Hutchins, U-M Softball Head Coach (1985-present)
"He gave me my opportunity at Michigan and I am forever grateful for that. I was fortunate enough to see him once or twice a year the past few years, and he was always very proud and supportive of the success our program has enjoyed. It was really neat for someone of Don Canham's stature to genuinely still care about Michigan softball even after all those years. It speaks to the type of person and athletic director he was. He created the Michigan that we are fortunate to have today. He was a genius in the collegiate athletic field and is the reason Michigan Athletics has been a power for as long as it has."
Jon Urbanchek, Former U-M Men's Swimming Head Coach (1982-2004)
"I owe everything to him. The year I came to Michigan we swam Iowa after they won back-to-back Big Ten championships. They came to Ann Arbor with seven different assistant coaches and we had none. At the end of the season I went to see Canham asking him for an assistant coach. I said, 'Look at Iowa, they won two titles, they have seven assistants.' He said, 'Urbanchek, that's why I hired you, you don't need assistant coaches, you can do it all yourself!'
"So a couple years later we win the first of our 10 Big Ten titles and I want to fly across the country to swim Stanford. Canham says 'You win one Big Ten championship and want to fly all over the country? You want a new pool or not?' Two years later we get Canham Natatorium.
"He just wanted you to earn it. Once you earned it, you could have it all. He was one of the greatest athletic directors. He had a great business mind with a tremendous vision for all sports, not just revenue sports. I will greatly miss him. I owe a lot to him."
Bruce Madej, U-M Athletic Media Relations (1978-80, 1982-present)
"When I think of the legends of Michigan, I think of Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler, Don Canham and Bo Schembechler. These four epitomize 140 years of athletic success in Ann Arbor. We have lost a link to the glorious past, but Don's legacy leaves an indelible mark for the future of Michigan."
Al Renfrew, Former U-M Ice Hockey Head Coach (1957-73) and Ticket Manager (1973-90)
"What do you say about a guy who revolutionized college athletics? And on top of that, he was a great friend. He was a success as a coach, a success as an athletic director and very successful businessman. If you liked him or hated him, you knew he was a winner."
Bill Frieder, Former U-M Men's Basketball Head Coach (1980-89)
"When hearing about Don I had the worst feeling I ever had. It was a shock. I talked to him and saw him on regular basis and he's always looked great and felt great. Don was an institution! He hired me, was a super AD, but more importantly he was special friend. You always knew where you stood with Don. I worked without a contract for 16 years and never worried about my job because Canham was my contract."
Dick Kimball, Former U-M Diving Coach (1959-2002)
"He was a lot more than a boss, he was a good friend and he understood Olympic competition. He promised us a pool and he delivered. I will miss him a lot."
Ron Kramer, Former U-M Football All-American (1954-56)
"I will miss him. We all will miss him. He was a great 'Michigan Man.'"
Will Perry, Former U-M Sports Information Director (1968-80) and Assistant AD (1981-94)
"College athletics lost a legend and one of its greatest friends. This is a sad day for anybody who cares about collegiate athletics."
Gene Smith, Ohio State Director of Athletics (2005-present)
(Former Associate AD and Athletics Director at Eastern Michigan, 1983-93)
"Don was a pioneer in the industry of athletics who set a standard for how programs should be developed and operated. He was the perfect combination of educator and entrepreneur, who always was successful maintaining the balance between academics and athletics. He built the brand that Michigan enjoys today with its athletics reputation."
Jim Delany, Big Ten Conference Commissioner (1989-present)
"While the career of Don Canham coincided with Wayne Duke's tenure as commissioner, I was always aware of the magnitude of his contributions to intercollegiate athletics as a coach and a progressive administrator. Along with the rest of the Big Ten office, I am saddened by the news of his passing."
Contact: Bruce Madej (734) 763-4423
