Lauterbur was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but when his widowed mother remarried, he moved north to Michigan.

Lauterbur served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II before going to college.

Lauterbur began his coaching career at Wickliffe and Collinwood high schools near Cleveland, Ohio.

He spent five years at West Point, including the undefeated 1958 season that featured Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins.

Toledo was riding a 23-game winning streak and had won consecutive Tangerine Bowls at the end of the 1970 season.

All these accomplishments caught the eye of Bump Elliott, the athletic director of the University of Iowa.

The only other winless season in Iowa history occurred in 1889, their inaugural campaign, when they lost the only game they scheduled that year.

Lauterbur refused, stating that he had to have full control of his staff and that it was his right, not Elliott's, to hire and fire assistant coaches.

Ron Maly, a reporter for the Des Moines Register, wrote, "On the day he was fired, Lauterbur held an umbrella over my head so he could protect the notepad I was using from the rain that was falling near the stadium.