Ernest Christensen

Ernest Christensen
Biographical details
Born	November 10, 1897; Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Died	May 7, 1977 (aged 79)
Alma mater	New Hampshire College
Playing career
1919–1921	New Hampshire
Position(s)	Right Tackle, Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Baseball
1924–1932	New Hampshire (freshmen)
Football
1924–1937	New Hampshire (asst.)
Ice Hockey
1925–1936	New Hampshire
1937–1938	New Hampshire
Lacrosse
1932–1936	New Hampshire
1938	New Hampshire
Head coaching record
Overall	55–57–8 (.492) [ice hockey]; 30–15 (.667) [lacrosse]
Accomplishments and honors
Records
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917-1918
Rank	First sergeant

Last updated January 02, 2025

Ernest Waldemar "Chris" Christensen was an American athlete and coach and businessman. He both attended and coached at the University of New Hampshire for nearly two decades before running an insurance business for 24 years. He was induced into the New Hampshire Wildcats Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.^[1]

Career

Christensen began attending New Hampshire College in the fall of 1916 after graduating from Gloucester High School.^[2] He was class vice president in his freshman year and pursuing a degree in agriculture. However, after just a year of studies he withdrew from college to join the Army after the United States had entered World War I. He served in the bicycle infantry with distinction, rising up to the rank of first sergeant by war's end.^[3] Afterwards, he resumed his studies at NHC, this time as a member of the Engineering department. Upon his return, Christensen joined the football team and eventually became a starter on the offensive line.

After graduating in 1922, Christensen spent two years away before returning to the college as an instructor of physical education. He was an assistant coach with the football team and the freshman baseball coach for several years. During that time he also accepted the role of head coach of the nascent ice hockey team in 1925. In 1932, when the school began sponsoring Lacrosse, Christensen became the program's first head coach.^[4] He was forced to take a leave of absence from his duties in 1937 while recovering from an attack of sinusitis.^[5]

In 1938, then an assistant professor, Christensen resigned from the university to pursue a career in business.^[6] He set up an insurance practice in Dover and worked there until his retirement in 1962. During that time, he served as a trustee for the university for 21 years, receiving an honorary doctorate in 1962.^[7] In 1970, one of the new residence halls was dedicated in his honor. Christensen Hall is a 10-story on-campus residence that remains in use by the school (as of 2024).^[8]

After his death in 1977, Christensen was inducted into the university athletic hall of fame.^[1]

Head coaching record

Ice Hockey

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall
New Hampshire Bulls Independent(1925–1926)
1925–26	New Hampshire	1–6–0
New Hampshire WildcatsIndependent(1926–1936)
1926–27	New Hampshire	6–0–0
1927–28	New Hampshire	7–1–1
1928–29	New Hampshire	6–4–1
1929–30	New Hampshire	3–8–2
1930–31	New Hampshire	7–5–0
1931–32	New Hampshire	0–8–0
1932–33	New Hampshire	1–6–0
1933–34	New Hampshire	5–6–1
1934–35	New Hampshire	6–4–2
1935–36	New Hampshire	7–6–0
New Hampshire WildcatsIndependent(1937–1938)
1937–38	New Hampshire	6–3–1
New Hampshire:		55–57–8
Total:		55–57–8
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Lacrosse

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall
New Hampshire Wildcats Independent(1932–1936)
1932	New Hampshire	2–5
1933	New Hampshire	5–3
1934	New Hampshire	7–2
1935	New Hampshire	5–2
1936	New Hampshire	5–2
New Hampshire Wildcats Independent(1938–1938)
1938	New Hampshire	6–1
New Hampshire:		30–15
Total:		30–15
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

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References

1 2 "Hall of Fame Inductees". New Hampshire Wildcats. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
↑ "1923 Granite Yearbook". New Hampshire College. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "1920 Granite Yearbook". New Hampshire College. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "1934 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "1939 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "1934 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "Ernest W. Christensen" (PDF). Sigma Alpha Epsilon Record. November 1977. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
↑ "Student Residences". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

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[hof-1] 1 2 "Hall of Fame Inductees". New Hampshire Wildcats. Retrieved December 30, 2024.

[2] "1923 Granite Yearbook". New Hampshire College. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[3] "1920 Granite Yearbook". New Hampshire College. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[4] "1934 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[5] "1939 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[6] "1934 Granite Yearbook". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[7] "Ernest W. Christensen" (PDF). Sigma Alpha Epsilon Record. November 1977. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

[8] "Student Residences". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

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v t e New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey
Formerly the New Hampshire Bulls
Playing venues	UNH Ice Rink (1926–1955) Harry C. Batchelder Rink (1955–1965) Snively Arena (1965–1995) Whittemore Center (1995–present)
Head coaches	Hank Swasey (1924–1925) Ernest Christensen (1925–1936, 1937–1938) Carl Lundholm (1936–1937) George Thurston (1938–1939) Anthony Dougal (1939–1943, 1946–1947) Joseph Petroski (1947–1951) Horace "Pepper" Martin (1951–1962) A. Barr Snively (1962–1964) Rube Bjorkman (1964–1968) Charlie Holt (1968–1986) Bob Kullen (1986–1987, 1988–1990) Dave O'Connor (1987–1988) Dick Umile (1990–2018) Michael Souza (2018–present)
Seasons	1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	ECAC Hockey (1961–1964, 1966–1984) ECAC 2 (1964–1966) Hockey East (1984–present)
Rivalries	Dartmouth Maine
All-time leaders	Ralph Cox (243 Points) Ralph Cox (127 Goals) Kevin Regan (70 Wins)
Frozen Four appearances	1977 1979 1982 1998 1999 2002 2003
NCAA Tournament appearances	1977 1979 1982 1983 1992 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013
Conference Tournament titles	ECAC Hockey: 1979 Hockey East: 2002 2003
Hobey Baker winners	Jason Krog (1999)

Biographical details

Born	(1897-11-10)November 10, 1897 Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Died	May 7, 1977(1977-05-07) (aged 79)
Alma mater	New Hampshire College
Playing career
1919–1921	New Hampshire

Position(s)	Right Tackle, Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Baseball
1924–1932	New Hampshire (freshmen)
Football
1924–1937	New Hampshire (asst.)
Ice Hockey
1925–1936	New Hampshire
1937–1938	New Hampshire
Lacrosse
1932–1936	New Hampshire
1938	New Hampshire

Head coaching record
Overall	55–57–8 (.492) [ice hockey] 30–15 (.667) [lacrosse]
Accomplishments and honors
Records

Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917-1918
Rank	First sergeant