Former Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe dead at 59 following Parkinson's disease battle

Steve Kragthorpe passed away on Sunday night after losing his battle against Parkinson’s.

This news comes via spokesmen at two of his former programs at Louisville as well as at LSU.

Kragthorpe was a collegiate head coach for seven seasons during the mid- to late 2000s. He spent four of those years leading Tulsa before the final three being at Louisville. In that time, he accumulated a record of 44-43 (.506) overall.

Kragthorpe went 15-21 (.417) in his three seasons with the Cardinals. They started ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation in his debut season in 2007. However, their record worsened each season as they didn’t play in a bowl game in that span. His tenure there then came to an end following a 4-8 record in 2009.

From there, Kragthorpe was an offensive coordinator for the Tigers. At that point, though, his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease came. That led him to step down in his role there to being an analyst in Baton Rouge. He would stay in that spot on the staff for a few more seasons.

While at Tulsa, Kragthorpe turned the program around in his first job as a head coach. After a 2-21 record in the pair of seasons prior to his arrival, the Golden Hurricane went 29-22 (.569) from 2003. to 2006. That included three records of eight or more wins, including a nine-win finish in 2005 when they won Conference USA. All that earned him an induction into Tulsa’s Hall of Fame earlier in 2024 which, unfortunately, he was unable to attend.

Kragthorpe also spent time at Northern Arizona, Boston College, and Texas A&M at the collegiate level. He also worked with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL as well.

Kragthorpe was 59 years old at the time of his passing this weekend. His wife, Cynthia, and three sons survive him following his death.