Greg Harden

Harden was an all-city and all-state track athlete at Southwestern High School in Detroit and was recruited to the University of Michigan in 1967 but dropped out of school to start a family. After taking jobs working in a steel mill and as a TV cameraman, in 1976 he was hired to be a counselor at a residential drug and alcohol treatment center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. During this time Harden returned to study at the University of Michigan and received a bachelor's degree in general studies in 1981. He worked as a clinical therapist at an Ypsilanti hospital from 1981 to 1986, and again went back to the University of Michigan to get his master's degree in social work. ==Career==

Harden began work as a student-athlete counselor in 1986 when Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler brought him in after hearing of the work Harden was doing in Ypsilanti, helping people deal with the challenges of everyday life and work. In the years since, Harden has been named associate Athletic Director and Director of Athletic Counseling for the University of Michigan Athletic Department. He met with hundreds of athletes every year, supervising 31 different sports, all while managing a multimillion-dollar department budget. Harden worked with some of the greatest athletes and coaches of all time in their respective sports, including Tom Brady, Desmond Howard, Jalen Rose, and Michael Phelps. Desmond Howard won the Heisman Trophy in 1991. Howard describes Harden's influence as: “If Greg Harden wasn’t at the University of Michigan…I don’t win the Heisman.” In the late 1990s, Harden also worked closely with Tom Brady, future NFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Super Bowl MVP. Brady mentioned that Harden does not always embrace traditional philosophies on coaching and training, which Brady appreciated. In interviews, Brady has mentioned Harden's influence: “He will always be somebody I rely on for sound advice and mentorship. He has helped me with my own personal struggles in both athletics and in life. Greg really pushed me in a direction that I wasn’t sure I could go.” If you master your mind, you master the game of basketball.” ==Death==

Harden died due to complications from surgery on September 12, 2024, at the age of 75. His death was announced by the University of Michigan the following day. ==References==