Greg Harden, the late Michigan athletic counselor extraordinaire, celebrated

ANN ARBOR — One of the greatest coaches in Michigan history said this about Greg Harden: “He is one of the greatest coaches in Michigan history.”

Carol Hutchins, college softball’s all-time winningest coach, was among the many speakers at Harden’s memorial service on Thursday at Crisler Center. They celebrated a man who pushed others to be the best versions of themselves and made anyone he met feel like the most important person in the world.

Harden died on Sep. 12 at age 75 from complications immediately following heart surgery.

A Detroit native and Michigan graduate, Harden began working for Michigan athletics in 1986, eventually becoming an associate athletic director in charge of athletic counseling. Though he retired from that full-time role in 2020, he remained a mentor to athletes and coaches.

On Thursday, with local sports radio host Sam Webb as the master of ceremonies, people who knew Harden from various times and places in his life spoke for three hours, with many acknowledging they had no intention of staying within the three-minute timeframe allotted to them.

Speakers mentioned his affinity for comic books, dancing, and kung fu. A childhood friend, Lee Robertson, remembered Harden drinking goat’s milk, lifting weights, and practicing martial arts. He said Harden never spoke of his track success, though it earned him a scholarship to Michigan.

Dave Rob, a college friend, would visit Harden at his East Quad dorm and have no trouble finding his pal. “He was a Pied Piper,” Rob said. It was hard to get anywhere with Harden because so many classmates stopped him to say hi. “He was so accepting of everyone.”

One of Harden’s mentees at Michigan’s Office of Minority Engineering Programs, Aidoo Osei, recalled time spent at Harden’s home. “We’d get down in his basement and he’d have his pool table and he’d be running court, like he was known to do,” Osei said. “Class was in session.” Harden had four rules for the guests: they would be moral and upright; they’d take care of their bodies and minds (no 40-ouncers); no complaining; they’d watch some kung fu movies, one of Harden’s pastimes along with comic books and dancing.

The state of Michigan’s lieutenant governor Garlin Gilchrist highlighted some of the messages Harden conveyed in the book he wrote and released last year: not letting others dictate how you perceive yourself; identifying a purpose in life and defining success; avoid self-defeating attitudes and behaviors.

When Michigan president Santo Ono met Harden for the first time, Harden placed his hands on Ono’s shoulders. Said Ono: “It was like he was looking into my soul.” Ono said Harden displayed “true empathy.”

Harden gained national fame for contributing to the athletic success of superstars like Tom Brady, Desmond Howard, and Michael Phelps. Brady, who had a prior commitment outside of the country, appeared via pre-recorded video. “You impacted me in the best possible way at a time I needed it the most,” he said.

Howard was a “frustrated, angry, disgruntled” player at the start of his Michigan football career. He visited Harden to pitch the possibility of transferring. “I think it would be a good idea for you to transfer,” Howard recalled Harden saying. “It appears as though you have already worked out this fantasy where things will be magically better at some other school and you will be a star.”

Walking back to his dorm, Howard reconsidered thanks to Harden’s “genius methodology.” He stayed at Michigan and won the Heisman Trophy. “Greg Harden was the single most influential person in Michigan athletics,” Howard said.

Hutchins, Michigan’s softball coach from 1985 to 2022, made it clear that Harden impacted athletes and coaches well beyond the big names. At first, she wasn’t sure about the guy working on “touchy-feely stuff” in the athletic department, but needed just one meeting with him to benefit from his tough-love approach.

Harden’s son, Brian, believes divine intervention allowed him to spend a final weekend with his dad. He called his dad this summer to say he’d like to attend Michigan’s home football game against USC on Sep. 21. That was the plan until Brian realized he and his wife were booked for something else. He switched his visit to the Texas game two weeks earlier. The week of the game, Greg called and told him he was having quadruple bypass surgery. Three days after the procedure, Harden passed away.

His widow, Shelia, spoke on Thursday, as did Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, a long-time friend and the best man at their wedding. They addressed hundreds of people, most of whom were positively affected by Harden’s messages over the years.

“Greg Harden lived his purpose,” said his fraternity brother Isaac Lockhart. “He was here for a reason and he lived that out.”