Former Marshall football coach George Chaump, who helped guide the Thundering Herd to four winning seasons in the 1980s, passed away Sunday at age 83 according to various reports from Central Pennsylvania.
A cause of death was not immediately revealed.
Chaump’s successful coaching career spanned more than 40 years and six decades and took him from the high school ranks to the National Football League.
He was the head coach at Marshall from 1986-1989 and helped lead the Herd to an appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA national championship game in 1987.
The following season, Marshall finished 11-2, won the Southern Conference and was ranked No. 1 in the country for a time before bowing out in a national quarterfinal.
Chaump compiled a 33-16-1 record at Marshall before moving on to coach Navy from 1990-1994.
From 1997-2012, Chaump coached at three Pennsylvania high schools before calling it a career.
A native of Scranton, Pa., Chaump played football and wrestled at Bloomsburg University.
His coaching career began in 1968 as an assistant at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes. Chaump was with the Buckeyes through the 1978 season, before moving on to serve as an assistant with the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons.
Chaump then returned to coaching college in 1982 at Indiana University of Pennsylania, a Division II program he helped guide to a 24-16-1 record over four seasons.
From there, Chaump came to Huntington, where he won at least six games in all four seasons at Marshall, including a combined 21-7 record in 1987 and 1988.
Chaump is a member of the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and Bloomsburg University Hall of Fame.