Iowa State University Athletics
Hall of Fame AD Max Urick Passes Away
11.25.2025 | Athletics
Max Urick, longtime Iowa State athletics administrator and director of athletics at Iowa State from 1983-93, passed away on Friday at the age of 86 in Manhattan, Kan.
A native of Troy, Ohio, Urick spent 19 years in the Iowa State Athletics Department, joining Lou McCollough's staff in 1974 as his top assistant.
Urick's time as an assistant (1974-83) was one of the most prosperous periods in Cyclone athletics history. Urick helped supervise construction of a new football stadium (Jack Trice Stadium), which debuted in 1975, and the Cyclone football team recorded three-straight eight-win seasons (1976-78) and appeared in a pair of bowl games (1977 Peach Bowl and 1978 Hall of Fame Bowl).
The Iowa State wrestling program also maintained its dynasty, winning the 1977 NCAA title.
Urick also played a key role in luring Michigan's Johnny Orr to accept the head men's basketball coaching position at Iowa State in 1980.
Urick succeeded McCollough as ISU's athletics director in 1983, as the athletics department witnessed significant facility improvements with Urick in charge. One of Urick's accomplishments was introducing the brand new Lied Recreational Facility in 1991, which features one of the nation's finest indoor track & field surfaces.
Iowa State also continued to have success athletically under Urick's watch. Iowa State won a pair of NCAA titles (1987 Wrestling, 1989 Men's Cross Country) and Orr made Hilton Coliseum one of the toughest venues in college basketball by creating "Hilton Magic."
The men's hoops team qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in 41 years in 1985 and made six NCAA Tournament berths (1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993).
After his time at Iowa State, Urick led the Kansas State athletics department from 1993-2001 before his retirement. He was involved in the development of the Big 12 Conference at KSU.
Urick was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame in 2017 and both the Iowa State Athletics and Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
