Former Tartan Football Coach Chuck Klausing Passes Away at 92

Feb. 16 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Former Carnegie Mellon University football coach Chuck Klausing died on February 15 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Klausing, who served as head coach from 1976–1985, compiled a 77-15-2 overall record at the helm of the Tartans. Klausing was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. He was 92.

"I owe my start in football to Coach Klausing," said Carnegie Mellon head football coach Rich Lackner who played for Coach Klausing at Carnegie Mellon. "He was a great teacher, coach, mentor and a lifelong friend. His commitment to the community stretched beyond coaching football, as he and his wife Joanne were responsible for the start of two huge fundraising events [The Jimmy Starr Scholarship Fund and The Moe Smith Benefit] while at Carnegie Mellon. He will be greatly missed by all."

Under Klausing, the Tartans captured six Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships, four trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs and the 1979 Lambert Trophy as the premier small college team in the northeast. In 1978 and 1979, Carnegie Mellon advanced to the semifinal round of the championship tournament only to be eliminated by the eventual national champion each year. Carnegie Mellon's 10-year record from 1975-84 ranked the Tartans as the eighth most successful team in the nation behind Brigham Young University and ahead of the University of Oklahoma. In 1986, Klausing, a two-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, left to become assistant head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

Prior to coming to Carnegie Mellon, Klausing spent time as an assistant coach at Rutgers and Army before taking over as head coach at IUP from 1964-69. Following his stint at IUP, he spent five years on the staff at West Virginia as an assistant coach before taking the helm of the Tartans. After a year on Pitt's staff, Klausing then coached at Kiski Prep from 1987-93.

Klausing started his coaching career at Pitcairn High School (1948-53) before moving on to Braddock High School (1954-59), where he won six consecutive WPIAL titles, with a 56-game unbeaten streak.

Klausing's grandson, Jeff Simmons, is Carnegie Mellon's Offensive Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs Coach. Klausing's granddaughter, Kimberly, was an intercollegiate swimmer for the Tartans and graduated in 2017. Kimberly's father, Tom, received his master's degree from CMU's Heinz College in 1978.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, 500 Ben Franklin Road South, Indiana, Pa. Viewing will be 2-8 p.m. Sunday. Monday's Funeral Mass is still to be determined.