A Markham, Ontario native, Herb Page came to Kent, Ohio, as a three-sport, student-athlete (golf, football, ice hockey) in the fall of 1970 and was a pillar in Kent State University's athletic success. His first Mid-American Conference Championship ring came as the kicker on the famed 1972 Golden Flashes football team. Page became the first member of the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame to be inducted in as both an athlete (1985) and coach (2019).
His storied career as head coach includes 17 NCAA Championship appearances with four top 10 finishes, 28 NCAA Regional appearances, 90 team tournament titles and 23 MAC Coach of the Year honors. The 1984 men's golf team earned Page his first of 23 Mid-American Conference titles as head coach.
After leading the men's golf team to 22 MAC crowns and being a part of 20 conference titles in 20 seasons from the women's team, Page is the proud owner of 43 MAC Championship rings.
Taking over in the fall of 1977, Page's 41 seasons are the most by a head coach in any sport throughout Kent State's history. For two years, Page served as a graduate assistant coach for both golf and soccer under Frank Truitt. He was also an assistant at Kent State's golf course and ice arena.
Page was instrumental in launching the women's golf program in 1998. The women's golf team has since won 20 consecutive MAC Championships, the longest streak by any sport in the history of the conference. Jan Dowling, Kent State's first recruit and one of the program's most decorated golfers, later made Kent State among the first programs to have a woman serve as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's teams. She is now the women's head golf coach at Michigan.
As an undergraduate at KSU, he earned eight varsity letters — four in golf and two each in football and ice hockey. He was the golf team’s captain his senior year and the placekicker for two of the most successful grid teams in school history — the 1972 MAC champions and the 1973 team that set a school record with nine victories. In 1974, Page was named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was drafted in the fifth round by the British Columbia Lions as a placekicker, although he never played in the Canadian Football League. In hockey, he was a starter on the first KSU hockey club team – the “Clippers”. Page was selected as “Clipper-of-the- Year” in 1971 and ranked in the top five in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons.
Page earned both his bachelor's and master's degree at Kent State. In August of 2012, the experience at his alma mater came full circle as he delivered the University's commencement address.
In 2019, Page was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Northern Ohio PGA Golf Hall of Fame, Kent State's Varsity "K" Hall of Fame, the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame and the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. In 2008, Page was honored with the GCAA Labron Harris Sr. Award, presented to the college whose support of the game through teaching, coaching and involvement in the community has helped ensure the continued growth of the game of golf. He was also chosen to coach the U.S. team at the 1998 World Junior Championships and the International Team at the 2018 Palmer Cup.
In September of 2007, the Ferrara and Page Golf Training Center was dedicated. The state-of-art $2.2 million facility remains one of the best in the nation. Dr. Emilio Ferrara, who served on Kent State's board of trustees provided the lead gift. A longtime mentor to Page, the pair have worked together at Windmill Lakes Golf Club for nearly four decades.
Page and his wife Paula reside in Kent, Ohio.
