Walter Hass
Coach, Football
Walt Hass was born in Holstein, Iowa and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1933. He won six letters in football and track and captained the 1932 Gopher gridders. After a year coaching the “U” frosh and another season at the University of Manitoba, he became head football coach at Hibbing High School in 1935. His final season on the Iron Range the Bluejackets were undefeated. Hass became head football and track coach at Carleton in 1939, and was appointed athletic director in 1942. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant commander.
Returning to Carelton in 1946, Hass was named Professor of Physical Education in addition to his coaching duties. His football teams won 62, lost 43 and tied four. His teams won grid championships in 1940 and 1954 (undefeated), and his thinclads captured two conference outdoor and five indoor crowns.
In 1956, he was named chairman and Professor of Physical Education at The University of Chicago, a position he was to hold for 20 years. He directed and taught class and club football for 16 years, and eventually returned varsity football to the Midway, coaching the Maroons until 1975.
Through the years, Walt has been a member of countless NCAA and AAU committees, including two three-year terms on the NCAA Council. In 1965, he was co-chairman of an NCAA committee which organized the National Association of College Athletic Directors. He was recently elected to the NACDA Hall of Fame, and in 1976 was recognized by the Chicago chapter of the Football Hall of Fame. The Illinois State High School Coaches Association honored him for outstanding service in 1976.