Mike Dau began his relationship with Lake Forest College when he enrolled as a freshman in 1954. He earned varsity letters in track and football and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1957 College Conference of Illinois Championship squad. After graduating from Lake Forest in 1958, Dau entered the Marine Corps. He returned to the College as an assistant football coach in 1962, coached at Carmel High School (Ill.) in 1963, and returned to Lake Forest for good in 1964, assisting in football and basketball. Dau was named head football coach in 1966 and served in that capacity until 1991.  He has also served as baseball coach and athletic director.

In addition to serving as Athletic Department Historian, Dau is an assistant football coach and the head coach of the College's handball team, a program he started in 1968.

Dau was inducted into the Lake Forest College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977 and is also a member of the United States Handball Association Hall of Fame.

He and his wife Paula, also a 1958 graduate of Lake Forest College, reside in Lake Forest, Illinois.