Michael Richard Mayerske (September 24, 1942 – October 28, 2022) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He was the 11th head football coach at

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. History P ...

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

, serving as interim head coach in 1984, and compiling a record of 5–4.

Early years

A native of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Mayerske played high school football for Redstone High School from 1957 to 1960. After graduating, he received a scholarship in track and football from

Coffeyville Junior College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. In September 1962, Mayerske ranked fifth in the nation for junior colleges in rushing. He transferred to Kansas State University of Pittsburg in 1963, and was an all-conference

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

with the team.

Coaching career

After graduating, Mayerske accepted a coaching position at

St. Joseph High School St. Joseph's School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, St Joseph's School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and variants are frequently used school names, and may refer to: Africa * St Joseph's School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Asia * St Joseph Higher Secon ...

as track coach and assistant football coach. He left for Marian High School in 1970, and was named head football coach at Concord High School in 1972. When he joined Concord, the school was in a 23-game losing streak. He coached them for five years, and led them to a winning record in each season. At Concord, he was also assistant dean of students, a physical education teacher, track coach, and supervisor of the intramural program. He was named head coach at Columbus High School in 1977. He remained with the team for five years, before being fired in 1981 after a locker room incident in which he reportedly injured a student. In 1983, after being out of coaching for a year, he was hired by his alma mater, Pittsburg State University, as an assistant coach. He was named offensive coordinator in January 1984, but was promoted to head coach after they did not renew the contract of

Bruce Polen Bruce Polen (born October 22, 1951) is a former American football player and coach. He was the tenth head football coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, serving for two seasons, from 1982 until 198 ...

. He returned to the team in 1985 as defensive secondary coach after compiling a 5–4 record as head coach, and retired the following year.

Family and later years

Mayerske married Kaylene Gay Banzet in August 1963 at Coffeyville, Kansas.

Death

Mayerske passed away on October 28, 2022 at the age of 80.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayerske, Mike 1942 births 2022 deaths American football running backs Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Pittsburg State Gorillas football coaches Pittsburg State Gorillas football players High school football coaches in Indiana High school football coaches in Kansas Players of American football from Fayette County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania