Hugo Otopalik (1890 – July 11, 1953) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player,

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, coach, and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

primarily at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He was the architect of the first

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Championships in both the sport of

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Early life

Otopalik, a native of

David City, Nebraska David City is a city in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,995 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. David City was founded in 1873 to serve as the county seat when county residents desired a more ...

, attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

competing in football, wrestling, and track & field. On the gridiron Otopalik played halfback and his squads were three time MVIAA champions in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

and

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

. He was also a standout wrestler at Nebraska. He was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and the 175 lb Western Conference champion in both 1916 and 1917. Post-college, Otopalik fulfilled his military duty by serving in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served under

General John Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the We ...

and rose to the rank of First Sergeant before the end of the War in 1918.

Wrestling

Otopalik was recruited to become the assistant wrestling coach at

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

under head coach

Charles Mayser Charles William Mayser (June 3, 1876 – July 14, 1967) was an American football, baseball, and wrestling coach. He served three stints as the head football coach at Franklin & Marshall College (1913–1914, 1924–1925, 1944–1945) and was the ...

in 1920. In 1923 Mayser unexpectedly resigned and Hugo volunteered to take over on a temporary basis. He remained the head coach for 29 years until his death in 1953. Otopalik took over an Iowa State program that was in its infancy and was able to establish the groundwork of a powerhouse. He led the Cyclones to their first ever NCAA team title in any sport, in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

. Additionally he coached seven individual NCAA champions: Arthur Holding, Hugh Linn, Richard Cole, Robert Hess (twice), Merrill Frevert and George Martin. He also coached the team to five conference titles in 1929, 1933, 1937, 1941 and 1947. At the international level, Otopalik coached the U.S. squad at the

1932 Los Angeles Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. Under his leadership,

Robert Pearce Robert Pearce may refer to: * Robert Pearce (politician) (1840–1922), British Member of Parliament for Leek, 1906–1910 and 1910–1918 * Bobby Pearce (rower) (1905–1976), Australian-Canadian sculler * Robert Pearce (wrestler) (1908–1996) ...

Jack van Bebber Jack Francis "Blackjack" Vanbebber (July 27, 1907 – April 13, 1986) was an American wrestler and Olympic gold medalist at the 1932 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling. Vanbebber was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma. He att ...

and

Peter Mehringer Peter Joseph Mehringer (July 15, 1910 – August 27, 1987) was an Olympic Gold Medal-winning freestyle wrestler from Kinsley, Kansas. Mehringer was nicknamed the "Kansas Whirlwind". After learning how to wrestle from a correspondence c ...

brought home gold while Edgar Nemir and Jack Riley took silver. Otopalik assisted in organizing the first NCAA Wrestling Championship. It was hosted by the Cyclones in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

. Hugo served as the first secretary of the National Wrestling Coaches Association from 1932 to 1936, and served in leadership positions developing AAU wrestling in the United States.

Golf

When the Big Six began sponsoring men's golf as an official sport,

needed a coach. Golf was not as elevated as football or basketball so the athletic administration didn't see a need to "hire a real coach". Otopalik was free because the golf season didn't overlap with the wrestling season, so he added head

coach to his job description. Otopalik helmed the golf program from 1931 to 1953, except the 1947 season, which Jack McGuire coached. His team's had Big Six Championships in 1940 and 1947 as well as a Big Seven Title in 1953. They also placed in the NCAA tournament in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953 with 4th, 8th, 34th, 12th, 22nd, and 19th-place finishes respectively. In addition to his coaching duties at Iowa State, Otopalik was also instrumental in creating the first NCAA Golf Championship. As a result, he was the Tournament Director of the first NCAA Championship held at the Wakonda Club in

Des Moines, IA Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

Honors

In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

as a Distinguished Member. In 2006, Otopalik was inducted into the

Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame The Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that recognizes former student-athletes that achieved great success during their time at Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa ...

References

External links

National Wrestling Hall of Fame profile

Iowa State Hall of Fame profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otopalik, Hugo 1890 births 1953 deaths American football halfbacks Basketball coaches from Nebraska Iowa State Cyclones athletic directors Iowa State Cyclones wrestling coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestlers Nebraska–Kearney Lopers athletic directors Nebraska–Kearney Lopers football coaches Nebraska–Kearney Lopers men's basketball coaches College golf coaches in the United States College men's track and field athletes in the United States People from David City, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska