Paul Walter 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 a ...

for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

Playing career

Brechler graduated from Emmetsburg High School before attending

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. 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 gu ...

and

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

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 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

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 A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

degree in

Physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

in 1941 and his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree in Education administration from in 1943 both from the

. After two years of naval service, Brechler took the position of business manager at the University of Iowa in 1946. One year later, E. G. Schroeder 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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Athletic director at Iowa

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, traditionally 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. ...

and three

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

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 pl ...

in basketball, who won two Big Ten championships and led Iowa to two

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

s. 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 and administrative career

In 1960, Brechler left Iowa to become commissioner of the

Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division III, Division III. The league was orig ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

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 The Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, sponsored by the ''Des Moines Register'', honors outstanding athletes and sports contributors. To be eligible, members must have either been born in Iowa or gained prominence while competing for a college or univers ...

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 2 ...

in 1990. When the University of Iowa renovated

Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes football, Hawkeyes football team. Opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds u ...

in 2006, they named the press box in Paul Brechler's honor. In 2002, Brechler was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.RMAC Hall of Fame
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Personal life and death

Brechler married to Wanda Krabbenhoft in 1957 until his death in 1997. Brechler also served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and in the

military reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

from 1960-1971 where he then attained up to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

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 20th-century American sportsmen