Lude: Ernst Is ?A Real Icon In The Rowing Fraternity?
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Bob Ernst has been cementing his legacy at Washington for four decades. To celebrate his dedication to the university and its rowing program, GoHuskies.com presents a collection of five stories told from the perspective of people who have worked with and rowed for the coach. | Series Home
When Mike Lude arrived at Washington in 1976, it didn’t take long for the athletic director to become impressed with Bob Ernst.
“I immediately watched him and thought, this guy is absolutely superior,” Lude said.
Under Lude’s watch – he was the university’s athletic director from 1976-91 – Ernst went from freshman coach to women’s coach, then men’s coach to director of rowing.
“He knows more about it and has more connections all over the United States and all over the world than anybody you could imagine,” Lude said. “He is so well respected nationally. In Bob Ernst we have a real icon in the rowing fraternity. He is just great.”
Lude talks about Ernst in reverential tones. When they were at Washington, the athletic director and coach would often “sit, talk and visit.”
“His background in high school wasn’t rowing,” Lude said. “He was a football player. He actually used a lot of background and knowledge of football in developing and coaching rowing.”
With a shared interested in football – Lude was the head coach at Colorado State from 1962-69 – and the overall success of the university’s athletics programs, Lude and Ernst developed a friendship that endures.
“If I were not retired and at another job as athletic director, I would hire him immediately as my associate athletic director,” Lude said.
Why would Ernst be his first choice?
“Well, a lot of people use the words work ethic, but this guy, he invented the idea,” Lude said.
As far as the retired athletic director is concerned, Ernst personifies, “discipline with a capital D.”
There were times Ernst would come into Lude’s office with an idea that would require money that didn’t fit into the athletic department’s budget.
On the occasions Lude was forced to reject one of the coach’s proposals, Ernst would say he understood and then head for the door. Before exciting he would turn back toward Lude and “throw me a kiss on the way out.”
“He never pouted about a decision,” Lude said. “He understood what it took. He was always the best. He was a total team player and an excellent coach.”
