Dan Powers, a member of the Gophers national championship football team in 1960 who went on to a long coaching career, died last Tuesday.
Powers, of New Richmond, Wis., was 89.
An offensive lineman, Powers began his coaching career in Wisconsin at high schools in Ellsworth and Menomonie after he graduated from the university.
He returned to the university to earn a master’s degree. During that time he helped coach the Gophers freshman football team and was an assistant wrestling coach and a physical education instructor.
In 1967, Powers was named the wrestling coach at the University of South Dakota. He also served as an assistant football coach on the staff of former Gophers teammate Joe Salem.
In 1970, Powers started the football program at Lakewood Junior College in White Bear Lake. He coached for six seasons before serving as the president of the National Junior College Coaches Association. In 1981, he returned to Lakewood as football coach.
He also officiated high school wrestling matches, working 10 consecutive state tournaments.
Powers, who was originally from Owatonna, enrolled at the University of Minnesota after serving in the Marines. He played high school football in Hudson, Wis., where he was named honorable mention all-state in 1954.
