Berry M. Whitaker (October 22, 1890 – January 10, 1984) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach. He also organized one of the nation's first university intramural programs at

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Whitaker served as the school's football

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

from 1920 to 1922 and as its basketball head coach for the 1920 season. Whitaker retired from coaching after the 1922 season, citing the physical toll that the stress of defeats took on him and also his desire to return to the work he most enjoyed—directing the University's intramural sports program, which he would do until 1960. The UT intramural fields were named in Whitaker's honor following their relocation and expansion in 1967. Whitaker was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1977. A native of

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...

, Whitaker played

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

Head coaching record

College football

College basketball

References

External links

* 1890 births 1984 deaths Basketball coaches from Indiana Indiana Hoosiers football players Texas Longhorns football coaches Texas Longhorns men's basketball coaches High school football coaches in Texas Sportspeople from Anderson, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana {{UTexas-stub