Omer Dean Ehlers (June 22, 1929 – February 19, 2017) was an American

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 ...

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 ...

coach and athletic administrator. He was the first

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 ...

for

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

and served for 22 years. Ehlers played basketball and baseball as a student at

Central Methodist University Central Methodist University (formerly known as Central Methodist College and also known as Central College or CMU) is a private university in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is accredited to offer masters, bachelors, and associate degrees. The school is ...

. He spent time playing baseball in the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

organization and in the U.S. Army before embarking on his coaching career, starting as head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach at Memphis State University (now the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

). Ehlers then moved to James Madison, as the school's first athletic director while the school made the transition from a women's college to a co-ed institution. He coached the school's basketball team for a year, before hiring

Lou Campanelli Louis P. Campanelli (August 10, 1938 – January 31, 2023) was an American basketball coach. He served as head coach at James Madison University from 1972 to 1985 and the University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1993. Early life Campanelli ...

, who led the Dukes to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1981. Ehlers was instrumental in founding the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

in 1985 and was the namesake for the Ehlers Award, granted by the conference to the men's and women's basketball players who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.” Ehlers retired in 1993. He died on February 19, 2017 at age 87.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlers, Dean 1929 births 2017 deaths Asheville Tourists players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Illinois Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Central Methodist Eagles baseball players Central Methodist Eagles men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Elmira Pioneers players Geneva Robins players James Madison Dukes athletic directors James Madison Dukes men's basketball coaches Memphis Tigers baseball coaches Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches People from Jackson County, Illinois Ponca City Dodgers players Pueblo Dodgers players