Willard A. "Dutch" Witte (April 3, 1906 – February 13, 1966) was the head men's basketball and football coach of the University of Wyoming from 1930–31 through 1938–39 (basketball) and 1933 through 1938 (football). He led the Cowboys basketball team to an overall record of 134–51 in his tenure. His 1933–34 team, led by his younger brother and two-time consensus All-American Les Witte, finished 26–4 and were retroactively named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation. He died in 1966 at a hospital in Fremont, Nebraska.[1] He also coached Wyoming to three division titles and two outright conference championships. He was inducted in the University of Wyoming Hall of Fame on September 12, 2003.
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. | April 3, 1906
Died | February 13, 1966 Fremont, Nebraska, U.S. | (aged 59)
Playing career | |
Football | |
1927–1929 | Nebraska |
Basketball | |
1927–1930 | Nebraska |
Position(s) | Halfback, quarterback (football) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1933–1938 | Wyoming |
Basketball | |
1930–1939 | Wyoming |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1933–1939 | Wyoming |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Basketball Helms national (1934) 2 RMC (1932, 1934) 3 RMC East Division (1931, 1933, 1936) | |
Head coaching record
editFootball
editYear | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wyoming Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Conference) (1933–1937) | |||||||||
1933 | Wyoming | 2–6–1 | 1–6–1 | 11th | |||||
1934 | Wyoming | 3–5 | 2–4 | 8th | |||||
1935 | Wyoming | 4–4 | 3–4 | T–7th | |||||
1936 | Wyoming | 2–5–1 | 2–4–1 | 9th | |||||
1937 | Wyoming | 3–5 | 2–4 | T–8th | |||||
Wyoming Cowboys (Mountain States Conference) (1938) | |||||||||
1938 | Wyoming | 2–5–1 | 1–4–1 | 6th | |||||
Wyoming: | 16–30–3 | 11–26–3 | |||||||
Total: | 16–30–3 |
Basketball
editSeason | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wyoming Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Conference) (1930–1938) | |||||||||
1930–31 | Wyoming | 19–4 | 11–1 | 1st (East) | |||||
1931–32 | Wyoming | 18–2 | 12–0 | 1st | |||||
1932–33 | Wyoming | 18–5 | 12–2 | 1st (East) | |||||
1933–34 | Wyoming | 26–4 | 14–0 | 1st | Helms National Champions | ||||
1934–35 | Wyoming | 11–5 | 10–4 | 2nd | |||||
1935–36 | Wyoming | 12–7 | 11–3 | 1st (East) | |||||
1936–37 | Wyoming | 8–9 | 7–7 | 6th | |||||
1937–38 | Wyoming | 12–5 | 8–4 | 3rd | |||||
Wyoming Cowboys (Mountain States Conference) (1938–1939) | |||||||||
1938–39 | Wyoming | 10–11 | 7–5 | 3rd | |||||
Wyoming: | 134–51 | 92–26 | |||||||
Total: | 134–51 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
References
edit- ^ "Death Claims Former Coach for Cowboys", United Press International, February 15, 1966
External links
edit- University of Wyoming Hall of Fame entry
- Willard Witte basketball coaching statistics @ sports-reference.com
- Willard Witte at Find a Grave