Paul W. Brechler (July 17, 1911 – September 13, 1997) was an

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 ...

for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

for 13 years and the first commissioner of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

Playing career

Brechler graduated from Emmetsburg High School before attending

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

Des Moines, Iowa 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, ...

. He played football and basketball at Drake. Brechler was 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 ...

and

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

for the Bulldog football team and was the captain of Drake's 1933 team. He was also a two-time all-conference football selection. Brechler graduated from Drake in 1934. He then became a high school coach at Harlan High School and at a high school in Iowa City. Brechler earned his master's degree at the

in 1941 and his doctorate from Iowa in 1943. After two years of naval service, Brechler took the position of business manager at the

in 1946. One year later,

E. G. Schroeder Ernest Gustav "Dad" Schroeder (1882 – February 23, 1960) was an athletic director for the University of Iowa for 11 years and the first wrestling and tennis coach in school history. Coaching career Schroeder was born in Germany in 1882 and moved ...

resigned as Iowa's athletic director, and Paul Brechler succeeded him on July 1, 1947. At the time, he was the youngest athletic director in the history of the

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 ...

Athletic director

During his tenure at Iowa, Brechler hired several successful head coaches. He hired

Forest Evashevski Forest "Evy" Evashevski (February 19, 1918 – October 30, 2009) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight ...

in football, who won 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 ...

and three

Big Ten 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. He hired

Bucky O'Connor Frank "Bucky" O'Connor (December 21, 1913 – April 22, 1958) was a college men's basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team from 1949 to 1958. Born in Monroe, Iowa, O'Connor spent much of his early life play ...

in basketball, who won two Big Ten championships and led Iowa to two Final Fours. Brechler also hired Francis Cretzmeyer in track and cross country, who led Iowa to multiple Big Ten titles. He hired Dave McCuskey in wrestling, who led Iowa to its first conference championship in the sport, and Don Klotz in tennis, who coached Iowa to its only conference title in the sport in 1958. Brechler was also responsible for the expansion of Iowa's athletics facilities. He directed construction of the Athletics Office Building next to the Fieldhouse and Finkbine Golf Course. Brechler also expanded seating capacity at Iowa Stadium and constructed a new press box at the facility. Near the end of his tenure as Iowa athletic director, Paul Brechler had a bitter public feud with head football coach

. In 1959, Evy called working conditions at the university “intolerable”. As a result, some of Evy's supporters demanded Brechler's resignation.

First WAC commissioner

In 1960, Brechler left Iowa to become commissioner of the

Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports (ni ...

. When that league folded two years later, he was named the first commissioner of the

in 1962. Brechler served as WAC commissioner for six years before taking the job as athletic director at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

in 1968. He later became the commissioner of the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

, serving from 1976 to 1990.

Honors

Brechler was named to the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. He was also selected to the

University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame The University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in the Roy G. Karro Building in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. The museum pays tribute to the most legendary and influential Iowa Hawkeye sports heroes. Opened in October 200 ...

in 1990. When the University of Iowa renovated Kinnick Stadium in 2006, they named the press box in Paul Brechler's honor.Brechler Press Box
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brechler, Paul 1911 births 1997 deaths American football ends American football guards California Golden Bears athletic directors Drake Bulldogs football players Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players Iowa Hawkeyes athletic directors Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball coaches Mountain States Conference commissioners Western Athletic Conference commissioners People from Emmetsburg, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa American men's basketball players