ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND MIKE KATZ, ’66, 6TH YR. ’76, WERE LEGENDARY TRAINING PARTNERS — a brotherhood immortalized in several iconic films, most notably Pumping Iron. The duo acknowledged their long friendship in May when Schwarzenegger presented Katz with the 2025 Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award. Katz received two standing ovations at the presentation, which was held at the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
“I met Mike when I came to America, and we became friends very quickly,” said Schwarzenegger at the ceremony. “I recognized that even though he is this huge guy, what are actually bigger are his generosity and humanity. He is a great, great human being.”
Katz, in turn, gave an emotional acceptance speech, touching on a variety of topics including growth of the sport and his own battle with cancer. “This, to me, would be like winning the Heisman Trophy . . . I am so happy to receive it,” he said.
Bullied as a child, Katz turned to strength training — ultimately rising to the pinnacle of achievement as both an NFL football player and bodybuilder.
He was a star football player at both Hamden High School and Southern and went on to play offensive guard for the NFL’s New York Jets. After a knee injury, he refocused his career on education, working 33 years as a teacher before retiring in 1999.
Along the way, he continued to train and compete in bodybuilding, winning the sport’s most prestigious titles: Mr. America in 1970 and Mr. Universe and Mr. World in 1972. Katz then qualified for the 1976 Mr. Olympia competition, placing second in the heavyweight division.
“But what makes him special is not only that he is this great competitor and great character in Pumping Iron, but he also is a person who did not just think of building himself [up]. He wanted to build [up] everyone else,” Schwarzenegger said.
With that goal in mind, Katz opened the East Coast’s first World Gym in Hamden, Conn., with friend and business partner Jerry Mastrangelo. The business grew and the partners later transitioned it to a Planet Fitness franchise. Katz’s son Mike Jr. also joined the leadership team.
Previously, Katz was inducted into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association, a nonprofit organization committed to fighting stereotypes and racism by educating the public about the role Jewish men and women play in the sports world. The storied athlete also was inducted into the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. His commitment to Southern students remains ironclad: he established the Mike Katz Endowed Football Scholarship at the university in addition to making other leadership-level gifts. ■
Make a gift to support Southern students. Please write “Mike Katz” in the check memo section or online in the designation section to contribute to the scholarship he established.
Read more from the Spring 2026 issue of Southern Alumni Magazine.
