National Football Foundation

The quarterback and captain of the 1965 National Champion Spartans, Steve Juday compiled a 3.2 GPA in marketing and transportation at Michigan State.

Coached by College Football Hall of Famer Duffy Daugherty, Juday broke nearly every school passing record as the team’s leading passer for three seasons. He completed 204-of-402 passes for 2,656 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career in East Lansing. Juday also tallied six rushing touchdowns in that span. Accumulating 12 school career passing records, he finished as the school’s all-time leader in passing yards, pass attempts, completions and touchdown passes, and the Spartans amassed a 20-8-1 record during his career in East Lansing.  Juday played in the 1966 Hula Bowl all-star game, earning honors as the most outstanding back.

A 1965 Heisman Trophy finalist, he led the Spartans to a perfect 10-0 season and, despite a loss to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, a national championship. A 1965 First Team All-America selection, Juday guided a Spartan offense that led the Big Ten with 29 points per game. Twice named All-Big Ten, he also landed on the 1965 Academic All-Big Ten team. Juday also excelled on the Spartan’s baseball diamond, earning three varsity letters in East Lansing.

In 1965, Juday received the Governor of Michigan Award as the team MVP, and the Tommy Love Award as the most improved player on the team. He also received the 1966 Big Ten Medal of Honor.

Juday served as vice president of the Michigan State University Varsity Club, and he was a member of the Blue Key Honor Society, Sparta Senior Men’s Honorary Society and the Excalibur Junior Honorary Society.

Juday joined Dow Chemical in 1967, and he became the director of human resources, chemicals and performance products for Dow Chemical in 1987. His responsibilities included all aspects of the human component in Dow’s $2.5 billion U.S. operations. Juday served as a coach and administrator for the Midland American Legion baseball committee and on the Midland Northwest Little League Board of Directors. He also served as a member of the Michigan State Athletic Council. In 1990, he claimed a prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.