Indiana’s Mayer Winner of Labron Harris Sr. Award

NORMAN, Okla. – Mike Mayer, head men’s golf coach at Indiana University and a member of the Indiana PGA Section, has been named winner of the Labron Harris Sr. Award presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America in cooperation with The PGA of America. The Harris Award is presented to the college or high school coach and PGA Professional whose support of the game through teaching, coaching and involvement in the community has helped ensure the continued growth of the game of golf and who represents the finest qualities the game has to offer.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as the 2014 recipient of the Labron Harris Sr. Award,” said Mayer. “I greatly cherish my memberships in both the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and the Golf Coaches Association of America. It has been my privilege to be associated with the PGA of America and the GCAA and both organizations have given me unbelievable opportunities and life memories.”

Mike Mayer is in his 17th season at the helm of the Indiana men’s golf program in 2014-15.

He has propelled Indiana golf to the top of the Big Ten Conference and a regular in the NCAA Tournament field while also building the program into one of the nation’s best in the classroom. The men’s golf team has posted a perfect multi-year Academic Progress Rate score of 1000 in each of the last seven years and eight of the last nine years.

In his 16 seasons he has had 14 players receive All-Big Ten honors, including four-time honoree Jorge Campillo (2006-09) and three-time recipient Jeff Overton (2002, 04-05).

Two of the best, if not the two best golfers in IU history have played under the watchful eye of Coach Mayer. Current PGA Tour member Overton played from 2002-05 while Campillo graduated in 2009. Overton and Campillo own the best career scoring averages in school history and combined for four PING All-America recognitions. In addition, Overton and Campillo are two of the five golfers in conference history to win back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year accolades.

The success derived by Mayer is even more rewarding given Mayer’s familiarity with IU. He is an alumnus of the university and spent nine seasons as an assistant coach under Sam Carmichael before taking over the Hoosier men’s program in the fall of 1998.

Individual accolades have not only come for Mayer’s golfers on the course, but also in the classroom. During his tenure, Indiana golfers have earned 79 Academic All-Big Ten honors, including a program record eight in 2004, 2005, 2011 and 2012.

Additionally, 13 Hoosiers have been recognized as Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars under the leadership of Mayer. Most recently, was David Mills who earned the honor in 2014 and became the fourth IU golfer to receive the honor on multiple occasions. Drew Allenspach received that honor in 2009 in addition to being named an Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine.

Mayer is the head professional at Indiana University Golf Course. There he has developed and established lesson programs, clinics and free lessons for IU students, faculty, golf course members and the Bloomington community and an on-going junior golf program for children five through eighth grade. In conjunction with the IU school of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Mayer developed curriculum for accredited beginning, intermediate and advanced golf classes. He also runs Mike Mayer Golf Schools and has conducted for the past 16 years golf camps for young golfers of all ability levels. Additionally, Mayer has worked with the Indiana Golf Association and Gongaware Junior Golf Academy to develop and host elite junior camps hosted by Indiana University. He is also involved in several free golf clinics across Indiana.

Mayer follows in the footsteps of past Labron Harris Award recipients Jay Hardwick (Virginia Tech/Middle Atlantic PGA Section), Devon Brouse (Purdue/Indiana PGA Section), the late Rod Myers (Duke/Carolina PGA Section), Herb Page (Kent State/Northern Ohio PGA Section), Jim Brown (Ohio State/Southern Ohio PGA Section), Pat Owen (U.S. Naval Academy/Middle Atlantic PGA Section), Rick Pohle (Williams College/ Northeastern New York PGA Section), John Bermel (Northern Iowa/Iowa PGA Section), Pat Goss (Northwestern/Illinois PGA Section) and Mike Small (Illinois/Illinois PGA Section).