Raymond Eliot "Butch" Nusspickel (June 13, 1905 – February 24, 1980) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at
Illinois College
Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...
from 1934 to 1936 and at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
from 1942 to 1959, compiling a career
college football record of 98–80–12. Eliot was also the head baseball coach at Illinois College from 1933 to 1937. His
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...
teams won three
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
championships (1946, 1951, and 1953) and two
Rose Bowls
The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...
(1947 and 1952). Eliot, who spent almost his entire career at the University of Illinois—he was a student athlete, an assistant football coach, head football coach, associate
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 an ...
, and finally the interim athletic director for the university—was nicknamed "Mr. Illini." He attended the University of Illinois, played as a
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
on the football team in 1930 and 1931, and was a member of
Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States.
The ...
fraternity. He died of an apparent heart attack on February 24, 1980 in
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...
.
Eliot is remembered by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association through its Ray Eliot award.
Head coaching record
Football
Ice Hockey
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Ray
1905 births
1980 deaths
American football guards
Illinois College Blueboys baseball coaches
Illinois College Blueboys football coaches
Illinois Fighting Illini athletic directors
Illinois Fighting Illini football players
Illinois Fighting Illini baseball coaches
Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty
Sportspeople from Boston
Kents Hill School alumni
Players of American football from Boston