Lawrence C. "Pops" Harrison (August 29, 1906 – August 19. 1967) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and administrator. He was the head coach of the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

from 1942 to 1950. Harrison was born and raised in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the ti ...

, and played basketball at 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 coll ...

, graduating in 1928. Harrison spent a year as athletic director and head coach at Westminster College in

New Wilmington, Pennsylvania New Wilmington is a borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1863. The population was 2,097 at the 2020 census. It is home to Westminster College and serves the Old O ...

, before resigning in a surprise move at the end of a basketball season where he had led the Titans to a 13–1 record. He then moved to his alma mater as an assistant to head coach

Rollie Williams Rolland Franklin "Rollie" Williams (October 11, 1897 – April 5, 1968) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Racine Legion in 1923. He p ...

. In 1942 Williams was called to Navy service and Harrison was elevated to the head coach position. He would be the Hawkeyes' coach for eight seasons, compiling a record of 98–42. His 1944–45 team went 17–1 behind All-Americans Dick Ives and Herb Wilkinson and won 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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

title. In the 1949–50 season, Harrison suffered kidney stones and missed several games in the season. At the close of the season, Harrison was fired from his post as the University cited a failure to perform his job duties. Upon leaving the Hawkeyes, Harrison was named

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

of the professional

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. Franchise history ...

for their final season. After the Hawks folded, Harrison was hired in 1952 as head basketball coach and assistant football coach at

Iowa Wesleyan Iowa Wesleyan University is a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It is Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution is affiliated with the United ...

, roles that he maintained for a school year. Harrison led the basketball Tigers to a 16–5 record for the 1952–53 season. Harrison died on August 19, 1967, at age 60.

References

External links

NCAA Division I coaching recordIowa Hawkeyes HOF profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Pops 1906 births 1967 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball coaches Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Iowa Wesleyan Tigers football coaches Iowa Wesleyan Tigers men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Iowa City, Iowa Westminster Titans athletic directors Westminster Titans men's basketball coaches