‘Red was a role model’: Longtime Fresno State coach with strong will to succeed dies at 84

Gene “Red” Estes, a longtime Fresno State track and field coach who transformed the Bulldogs into a perennial power, died Wednesday from health complications.

He was 84 years old.

A U.S. Track and Field Hall of Famer, Estes coached at Fresno State from 1964-2000 with his final 20 seasons as the track and field head coach as the successor to Dutch Warmerdam.

Fresno State enjoyed some of its greatest success during Estes’ tenure, capturing 11 conference championships, including 10 consecutive Big West Conference men’s titles. He also guided the cross country program to four conference titles.

Estes was named Big West Coach of the Year nine times and helped produce more than 100 athletes who achieved All-America status.

Seven of his athletes went on to win an NCAA individual title, including Matt Mileham (hammer, 1984), Doug Fraley (pole vault, 1987), Todd Riech (javelin, 1994) and Robert Foster (110 hurdles, 1994).

“When I think of Red, what comes to my mind is how he impacted people not only at Fresno State but the community and beyond,” said Bob Fraley, a longtime friend who worked under Estes as an assistant before eventually succeeding him as the Bulldogs track and field coach. “He understood very well the principles and values and attitudes that kids developed in the sport of track and field.

“And he made sure they understood that the skills and traits you developed in track and field — like perseverance and competing and hard work — you keep using those skills throughout life after track is over.”

Same look, sense of humor

Beyond his success on the track, Estes also became quite known for what seemed like his never-changing look and personality.

He arrived at Fresno State as a young man with a very low and close hair style, and ended his coaching career nearly four decades later with the same type of crew cut.

Though ultra conservative in many of his beliefs, Estes also could make people laugh with a collection of corny jokes and didn’t mind poking fun of himself.

Like when he joked with former Fresno Bee sports writer Ron Orozco that he struggled with the ability to close deals with recruits because: “I think I have eternal bad breath.”

It was part of his personality of not taking life too seriously.

Just earlier this month, Estes wore a customized outfit that was half a Fresno State T-shirt and the other half a T-shirt of Oregon, his alma mater. Estes showed off his unique shirt while attending the football game between the Bulldogs and Ducks from inside Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

“Never afraid to be himself,” Fresno State play-by-play announce Paul Loeffler tweeted. “Blessed by his creativity, humor and heart for others.”

Title IX backlash

Though his past athletes sometimes made fun of Estes’ resistance to change, such as his preference to hand write notes rather than use a computer, his outspokeness against Title IX ended up placing the coach at odds with some school administration and fellow Fresno State coaches.

In 1997, it came to light during a slander lawsuit filed by then-Bulldogs coach Margie Wright and associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich against the radio station KMJ that Estes was among a group of Fresno State coaches who spoke with radio host Ray Appleton the day before he delivered a monologue critical of the two women and of Title IX.

Ten years later and well after his retirement from coaching in 2000, Estes’ name still was brought up during testimony in two other gender equity trials filed by female Fresno State coaches against the university.

Near the end of his coaching tenure, Estes in a 1999 interview with The Bee acknowledged the difficulty of working at Fresno State during the ever-changing sports landscape caused by Title IX, the federal law that mandated equal athletic opportunities.

“I look in the mirror and (ask): ‘Is it me?’ because I believe what I believe in,” Estes said then of coaching at Fresno State. “I have a hard time with the new micro-management style of leadership and administration.”

Loyal to Fresno State

Estes remained loyal to the Bulldogs during retirement, and helped fundraise for the track and field and cross country programs as a volunteer with the Bulldog Foundation.

“It was his love for the athletics program and for the community,” said Pat Ogle, the longtime executive director of the Bulldog Foundation on why Estes kept fundraising for Fresno State after his retirement. “He raised some pretty good money.”

Estes had much practice at fundraising, and being resourceful to find money.

During his time as Fresno State’s coach, Estes started and ran a community drop-off recycling center in an effort to boost funding for track and field.

His recycling center project and selling programs at Fresno State football games generated about half of the track and field’s annual budget of $100,000.

In typical Estes humor, he recounted to The Bee in 1999 what it’s like running a recycling center as a college coach.

“People call and ask: ‘Do you take oil? Hazardous waste?’” Estes said. “It’s a drain.”

Unique tie to Nike

Estes had a chance to invest in Nike during the company’s infancy stages, according to friends who’d heard the coach tell his story

Estes was a track and field athlete at Oregon in the late 1950s as a shot put and discus thrower.

One of his Oregon teammates was Phil Knight, the founder of the giant shoe company/athletic apparel Nike.

But back then, Knight was just trying to get Nike going.

Estes helped his friend by putting rubber on waffle irons to make the soles of shoes.

Some time after college, Knight asked Estes if he’d like to invest in Nike.

But Knight was asking for $2,000.

Estes, however, had just gotten married and did not have anywhere close to the money.

“If he’d only invested then,” Ogle said Estes would say when telling the story.

Estes’ continued friendship with Knight ended up benefiting the coach and Fresno State. Knight made a sizable donation to Fresno State to renovate the on-campus track.

And one of the reasons Estes was able to get prime seats at Autzen Stadium for the Fresno State football game at Oregon: He was sitting in Knight’s luxury suite.

Other Estes accomplishments

Estes, a native of Craigmount/Lewiston in Idaho, was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2000, as well as the United States track and field cross country coaches association Coaches Hall of Fame the same year.

He went on to be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

By the end of his 20-year head coaching stint with the Bulldogs, Fresno State finished 188-38-1 in dual meets.

Estes received a total of 11 coach of the year honors.

“The association I’ve had with the student-athletes has been the highlight of the 36 years,” Estes said back in 2000. “I’ve had the privilege to coach what turned out to be tremendous contributors to our society. And that is what makes coaching worthwhile.”

In retirement, Estes took on welding as a hobby. He became so good at it that some of his work ended up being displayed as winning scuptures at the Big Fresno Fair and other fairs in the state.

“He’d take different items that didn’t seem like they belonged and weld them together,” Olge said. “Some of these scuptures were huge. People liked them. He loved sharing the work with the community.”

Estes is survived by his wife, Myrna, and their four children.

“In the sports world, we have legends, heroes, characters, stars and role models,” Fraley said. “Red was a role model. And it’s the story of these legends, heroes, stars and role models that keep dreams alive and fuel the youth.

“Red would be happy to keep another one’s dream alive.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 12:37 PM with the headline "‘Red was a role model’: Longtime Fresno State coach with strong will to succeed dies at 84."