George Perles, the former Big Ten-winning football coach at Michigan State, athletic director and Board of Trustees member, died at age 85 Tuesday night, sources confirmed to The News.
Perles played football at Michigan State under the legendary Duffy Daugherty before returning to become an assistant coach under Daugherty. He soon ended up in the NFL and USFL for 10 years before becoming Michigan State’s head coach from 1983-94.
During his time, Perles led the Spartans to two Big Ten Conference titles and seven bowl games.