Alan Bovard

Alan Bovard

Bovard cropped from 1929 Michigan football team photograph
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born (1906-09-24)September 24, 1906
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died July 11, 1983(1983-07-11) (aged 76)
Marquette, Michigan
Playing career
1926–1929 Michigan
Position(s) Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1930 Michigan (asst.)
1947–1956 Michigan Tech
Head coaching record
Overall 38–29–4

Statistics

Alan J. Bovard (September 24, 1906 – July 11, 1983) was an American football player and coach. He was an All-Big Ten Conference center at the University of Michigan in 1929. He later served as the athletic director at Michigan Technological University from 1947 to 1972 and the head football coach from 1947 to 1956.

Athlete

Bovard was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Ithaca, New York.[1] He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1926 and played at the center position for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1926 to 1929.[2][3][4][5] As a senior in 1929, he was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference player.[5]

High school coach

Bovard graduated from Michigan in 1930 and served as an assistant football coach under Harry Kipke for the 1930 Michigan Wolverines football team.[6] He was employed as a high school football and basketball coach from 1931 to 1947.[7] He coached Lansing's J. W. Sexton High School basketball team to Michigan's Class A championship in the 1944-1945 season and also coached the school's football team to the state Class A championship in 1946.[7][8]

Michigan Tech

In 1947, Bovard was hired as the athletic director, head football coach and head of the physical education department at Michigan Technological University.[1][9] He served as the football coach from 1947 to 1956. In 1948, Bovard led the Michigan Tech Huskies football team to its first undefeated season, finishing the season with a 7–0 record and outscoring opponents 209 to 58.[1][10] He served as athletic director for 25 years and expanded Michigan Tech's athletic program into eleven varsity and seventeen intramural programs.[1][7] Bovard also served as the school's head basketball coach for two years, compiling a record of 19 wins and 14 losses.[7]

In October 1972, Bovard announced his retirement from Michigan Tech, effective December 31, 1972.[11]

Death and Hall of Fame inductions

In July 1983, Bovard died in Marquette, Michigan, where he had been hospitalized for several weeks.[7]

Bovard was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Michigan Tech Hall of Fame in 1985.[1][12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alan J. Bovard Inducted August 3, 1985". Michigan Technological University.
  2. ↑ "1926 University of Michigan Football Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  3. ↑ "1927 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  4. ↑ "1928 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  5. 1 2 "1929 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  6. ↑ "1930 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Former MTU AD dies". Ironwood Daily Globe (AP story). 1983-07-13.
  8. ↑ "Campbell Assumes Grid Job At Lansing Sexton". The News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan. 1947-02-27.
  9. ↑ "Name Bovard Engineers' Grid Coach". Detroit Free Press. January 26, 1947. p. 37.
  10. ↑ "Alan J. "Al" Bovard Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse.
  11. ↑ "Bovard To Quit Michigan Tech". The Milwaukee Journal. 1972-10-06.
  12. ↑ "2010 UP Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Program" (PDF). UP Sports Hall of Fame.
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