 Orwig from 1929 Michiganensian | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1907 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 1994 (aged 87) St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1928 | Michigan |
| Basketball | |
| 1927–1930 | Michigan |
| Position(s) | End (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1930 | Michigan (GA) |
| 1931–1935 | Benton Harbor HS (MI) |
| 1936–1945 | Libbey HS (OH) |
| 1946–1947 | Toledo |
| 1948–1953 | Michigan (assistant) |
| Basketball | |
| 1936–1945 | Libbey HS (OH) |
| 1946–1947 | Toledo |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1954–1961 | Nebraska |
| 1961–1975 | Indiana |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 15–4–2 (college football) 18–6 (college basketball) |
| Bowls | 2–0 |
James Wilfred "Bill" Orwig[1] (January 1, 1907 – July 30, 1994) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Michigan. He later served as the athletic director at the University of Toledo, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the Indiana University Bloomington.
Raised in Toledo, Ohio, Orwig was an all-state athlete in high school and went on to be an All-Big Ten Conference basketball player at Michigan. He received three varsity letters in basketball and one in football. After graduating from Michigan, Orwig was a successful high school football and basketball coach from 1931 to 1945 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Toledo. He helped develop an athletic program for the occupation forces in Germany and became the athletic director, football coach, and basketball coach at the University of Toledo after World War II.
From 1948 to 1951, Orwig was an assistant football coach at Michigan in charge of ends, participating in Michigan's 1948 national championship team and the 1950 team that won the Big Ten championship and the Rose Bowl. He accepted a job as athletic director at the University of Nebraska in 1954 and remained there for seven years. In 1961, he was hired as athletic director at Indiana University and led the Hoosiers from a four-year NCAA probation to 37 Big Ten Conference championships and seven NCAA championships. He hired Bobby Knight as basketball coach at Indiana,[2] and has been inducted into the Halls of Fame at Indiana, Michigan and Toledo.[3][4][5][6]
- ^ "Bill Orwig Is New Coach of Michigan Ends: Ex-Tiger Mentor Succeeds Valpey At Wolverine Job". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor). April 12, 1948.
- ^ Knight, Bobby (2003). Knight: My Story, p. 321. Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-28257-5.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
HOFwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Varsity 'T' Hall of Fame - Alphabetical List".
- ^ "Bentley Library - UM Athletic Hall of Honor".
- ^ "M Club Site for Hall of Honor". Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2008.