SEC Network to air “Remembering Mike Leach” program

Following the passing of Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach, SEC Network will televise Remembering Mike Leach at 2 p.m. ET, an hour-long tribute show paying homage to the college football icon. The show will also stream live on the ESPN App and will be simulcast on Sirius XM channel 374.

In addition to this afternoon’s tribute show, SEC Now will be live beginning at 11 a.m. until the start of Remembering Mike Leach. SEC Network anchors Dari Nowkhah and Alyssa Lang will host throughout the day, joined by various contributors sharing their memories and perspective about Leach and the impact he had on so many.

Michael Charles “Mike” Leach passed away on Monday, Dec. 12 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., following complications from a heart condition. He was 61. Leach is survived by his wife, Sharon; children Janeen, Kim, Cody and Kiersten; and three grandchildren.

Known for his prolific Air Raid offenses, Leach was 158-107 in his 21 seasons as a head coach. He was also known for his quirky personality, dry wit, and penchant for talking about history, business and politics (and, really, just about anything else) as comfortably as he did quarterbacks making the right reads and receivers running the right routes.

Leach had countless interests. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved to travel, especially to his favorite spot in Key West, Florida. He graduated in the upper 25% of his class with a law degree from Pepperdine University and co-authored a book on Geronimo and the Apache leader’s approach to leadership. After growing up mostly in Cody, Wyoming, Leach earned his undergraduate degree from BYU, where he played rugby. He didn’t play football in college but closely studied Hall of Fame BYU coach LaVell Edwards and his offense.

After receiving his law degree in 1986, Leach began his football coaching career at Cal Poly in 1987, then joined Hal Mumme’s staff at Iowa Wesleyan in 1989. Mumme, the creator of the Air Raid offense that made Leach a superstar in coaching, said Leach deserved a lot of credit for turning the scheme into a brand name. Leach worked for Mumme as offensive line coach at Iowa Wesleyan and also served as a de facto publicist, sending out news releases to national newspapers about the team’s high-flying exploits.

Please visit ESPN.com for Leach’s full obituary from ESPN news services.