Willard A. Witte

(1906-1966) born at Swanton, Saline County, lived in Lincoln and Fremont. Athlete, coach, administrator, businessman, his men's basketball team at the University of Wyoming won the mythical college basketball national championship in 1934, even though it lost in the Amateur Athletic Union finals to the semi-professional Tulsa Oilers; in nine seasons as head coach his record was 134 wins and 51 losses, and for several years served concurrently as athletic director and coach of football, track, and tennis; honored by governor of Wyoming in 1934 and inducted into Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Consult Cheyenne Wyoming Eagle, February 15, 1966, p. 25 and Omaha World Herald, February 15, 1966, p. 21 and Fremont Tribune, February 14, 1966, pp. 1-2 and September 20, 1985, p. B-1 and 1995 Information Please Sports Almanac (Houghton Mifflin, 1995) 295-296.

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