March 29, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - Lou Saban, who served as UCF's head coach during the 1983 and 1984 seasons, passed away on Sunday morning at his home in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. at the age of 87.
The third coach in UCF history, Saban came to Orlando in 1983, taking over a then-Golden Knights squad which competed at the NCAA Division II level and had gone 0-10 the previous year. He led the Knights to a 5-6 mark in 1983. Saban's squad was not as successful in 1984 as UCF opened the season at 1-6 leading to Saban to be replaced by his assistant Jerry "Red" Anderson.
Overall, Saban's career is lengthy and legendary. The All-Big Ten pick at Indiana University went on to play for the Cleveland Browns. He served as a collegiate head coach at Northwestern, Western Illinois, Maryland, Miami (Fla.) and Army in addition to UCF. He was the original head coach of the Boston (currently New England) Patriots of the AFL in 1960 and also coached the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. His first tenure in Buffalo included the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championships while his second stint with the Bills included O.J. Simpson's then-NFL record 2,003 yard season in 1973.
Saban served as president of the New York Yankees from 1981-82 immediately before returning to football at UCF. After leaving Orlando, he served as a coach at a variety of high schools and lower division college football programs before closing his long coaching career in 2002 at Chowan University in North Carolina.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.