Edward Lauer

Last updated March 26, 2019

Edward H. Lauer was an athletic director for the University of Iowa from 1929-1934. He was the fourth athletic director in school history, and he guided the athletic department through a one-month Big Ten suspension from athletic competition and the first few years of the Great Depression.

An athletic director is an administrator at many clubs or institutions, like colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in athletic programs.

The University of Iowa is the flagship public research university of the State of Iowa, United States. Its main campus is in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and the second largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 11 colleges offering more than 200 areas of study and seven professional degrees.

The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States, based in suburban Chicago, Illinois. Despite its name, the conference consists of 14 members. They compete in the NCAA Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport. The conference includes the flagship public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska, as well as two additional public land grant schools and a private university.

Background

Edward Lauer graduated from the University of Michigan in 1916. He was named a professor at the University of Iowa in 1921. In 1927, Lauer was named director of Iowa’s Extension Division.^[1]

The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, 20 years before the territory became a state. The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres (16 ha) of what is now known as Central Campus. Since its establishment in Ann Arbor, the university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus, two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn, and a Center in Detroit. The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

Athletic director

Paul Belting, Iowa’s athletic director, abruptly resigned at the end of his five-year contract on April 26, 1929.^[2] University president Walter Jessup appointed Edward Lauer to become the fourth athletic director in school history on May 7, 1929, and Lauer agreed to take over the duties of athletic director on June 1, 1929.^[3] On May 25, Lauer attended his first Big Ten meeting of athletic directors in Chicago, Illinois. At that meeting, Lauer was told that Iowa would be suspended from Big Ten athletic competition on January 1, 1930, due to alleged recruiting violations.^[4]

Paul E. Belting was an athletic director for the University of Iowa from 1924 to 1929. He was the third athletic director in school history, and he oversaw the construction of the Iowa Field House in 1927 and Iowa Stadium in 1929.

Lauer, who had no known connection to any of the alleged violations, began a long process to get Iowa’s athletic department reinstated.^[5] He attended a Big Ten meeting in December 1929, where Iowa’s request for reinstatement was denied.^[6] Finally, on February 1, 1930, the suspension of Iowa’s athletic department was rescinded by the Big Ten.^[7]

Departure

After five years as Iowa’s athletic director, Lauer resigned in June 1934.^[8] Iowa named their football coach, Ossie Solem, to succeed him. Lauer took a job with the University of Washington, where he was named dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Ossie Solem American football player and coach, basketball coach, college athletics administrator

Oscar Martin "Ossie" Solem was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa (1920), Drake University (1921–1931), the University of Iowa (1932–1936), Syracuse University (1937–1945), and Springfield College (1946–1957), compiling a career college football record of 162–117–20. From 1913 until 1920, Solem was the head coach of the Minneapolis Marines, prior to that team's entry into the National Football League (NFL). During his time with the Marines, Solem introduced the team to the single-wing formation, developed by the famed coach, Pop Warner, and used by the University of Minnesota, where Solem had played football. Solem was also the head basketball coach at Drake University for four seasons, from 1921 to 1925, tallying a mark of 37–31.

The University of Washington is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.

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References

↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 124 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
↑ Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow, Page 49 (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)
↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 105 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 106 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Pages 105-134 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
↑ Shaping College Football: The Transformation of an American Sport, by Raymond Schmidt (ISBN 0-81560-886-1)
↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 118 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
↑ Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow, Page 58 (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)

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[1] 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 124 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)

[2] Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow, Page 49 (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)

[3] 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 105 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)

[4] 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 106 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)

[5] 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Pages 105-134 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)

[6] Shaping College Football: The Transformation of an American Sport, by Raymond Schmidt (ISBN 0-81560-886-1)

[7] 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 118 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)

[8] Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow, Page 58 (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)