Richard Sykes, longtime NC State men’s golf coach, dies at 78

Richard Sykes, who coached the North Carolina State men’s golf program for 46 years, has died. He was 78.

Sykes took over the Wolfpack program in 1971 before retiring in 2017. He was inducted into the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 and he coached 34 All-Americas, including former PGA Tour winners Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson and the late Vance Heafner. Sykes led NC State to 24 NCAA Regional appearances, 12 NCAA Championship appearances and the program’s lone ACC title in 1990 during his tenure.

“Richard Sykes is one of the pillars that NC State Athletics is built on,” NC State Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan said in a release. “Although for 46 years he was our head men’s golf coach, Coach Sykes was much more than that to NC State. He was a passionate leader, educator and builder of young men. He had an infectious personality and I don’t know of anybody that spent time with Coach Sykes that didn’t leave with a good story to share and a deeper appreciation for him and his program. This is a tremendous loss for our University and my condolences are with his wife Pam, his children, David, Rick, Paige and Stacy and his five grandchildren.”

Sykes was a 1968 graduate of NC State, where he earned his degree in recreation and parks administration. He ran on the freshman track team while at NC State and was also on the men’s varsity golf team for the 1965-66 season.

He oversaw the completion of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, NC State’s home golf course designed by Arnold Palmer’s Course Design Company. A former member of the National Advisory Board for the Golf Coaches Association of America, Sykes has served on the NCAA Selection Committee and has been the chairman as well.