Western Colorado University Athletics

The 1991 NAIA National Coach of the Year who collected six conference titles as head coach and another six titles as a defensive coordinator was one of four individual inductees during the 16th Annual Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Oct. 8 at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center in Gunnison.

“(Duke Iverson’s) winning football program created excitement on campus and pride in Western State that helped me as a basketball to recruit high caliber student-athletes and for my teams to build on the momentum of the Fall successes in football in creating an electric environment of student and community support for basketball during the winter months,” wrote Western State President Dr. Jay Helman in his nomination letter.

Duke first arrived in Gunnison in 1967 for graduate work and teacher certification after he earned his Ph.D. in biological science at the University of Wisconsin. After a year under Ollie Woods as the defensive end and tight end coach, Duke went on to coach at Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., where he was part of a staff that won five conference championships.

Duke came back to Gunnison in 1974, after a stop at Flathead High School in Kalispell, Mont., as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach for Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame Hall of Fame inductee Bill Noxon. Six straight RMAC championships and a pair of national playoff appearances later, Duke went to Brigham Young University as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

Duke’s third return to Gunnison came in 1988, when he took over a struggling Mountaineer program as the head coach. After three losing seasons, Western State broke though in 1991 with a conference championship and national semifinal appearance. Duke was named the NAIA Division I National Coach of the Year after the Mountaineers led the nation in total offense and scoring offense.

The Mountaineers repeated as conference champions in 1992 and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in the first year of eligibility. The RMAC titles seemed to come in pairs, as Duke led Western State to championships in 1994-95 and 1997-98. The Mountaineers also went to the playoffs in 1994 and 1997.

Duke, a native of the Pacific Northwest, moved back to the region after the 2000 season to take the head coaching position at Western Oregon. He finished with a 79-47-1 record with the Mountaineers, and after four years at Western Oregon, would “retire” from coaching.

While “retired”, Duke returned to Western State for a fourth stint on the coaching staff, this time as offensive coordinator for Pat Stewart. He spent two seasons in Gunnison before going back to Oregon as a high school assistant coach.

Duke coached several Mountaineer student-athletes who went on to professional careers in the National Football League and Arena Football League, as well as several other leagues in the United States.  He coached 15 different athletes to 22 All-America honors and three conference players of the year while he picked up six RMAC Coach of the Year awards.

“Duke has mentored many young men over the years which have helped them achieve success,” said Western State Head Coach Pat Stewart in his nomination letter. “His leadership and passion for developing young people has raised the standard of excellence in the Western State College Football program.”