March 7, 2013 · 3:14 pm

A conversation with Penn wrestling coach Rob Eiter

Rob EiterIt’s an exciting time for the nationally ranked Penn wrestling program. Fresh off concluding its regular season with a 37-0 demolition of neighborhood rival Drexel – their sixth straight win – the No. 21 Quakers are set for the EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) Championships at Rutgers tomorrow and Saturday, before they gear up for the NCAA Championships in Iowa from March 21-23.

Just days before the EIWAs, I went over to the team’s practice facility at Hutchinson Gymnasium and caught up with Penn wrestling coach Rob Eiter, who discussed the expectations for this year’s team and the state of the program, as well as the popularity of wrestling and what needs to be done now that the sport was controversially dropped from the Olympics.

What’s the mood of the team right now going into EIWAs?

Right now, they’re pretty excited. We had a real good year. It was a long year. I think now that it’s over, they’re excited to get to the tournament because it’s a pretty wide open tournament. There’s not really a true clear-cut team favorite right now. These guys are young and don’t know any better right now.

You guys haven’t won the EIWAs since 1999 and Cornell has won the last six – what it would mean for the program to finally win one after all this time?

It would be awesome. It would really kind of solidify what we’ve been saying the last two years with this team. There are quite a few banners hanging up here and we feel like the team now is back to that stage where we’re ready to really be a force – not only in the conference but NCAA-wise.

Did you get a little extra boost by finishing the regular season with routs of nearby schools Princeton and Drexel?

It’s always good to go out on a win. The nice thing about that was with the back-to-back matches, the kids actually wrestled better against Drexel than they did against Princeton. Usually it’s the other way around where it’s kind of a letdown that second day. So they felt real good about that. It’s a great way to end it and keep your spirits up for the next two weeks going into this tournament.

You recently became the fastest coach at Penn to reach 50 wins – what does that mean to you and did you have any idea that was something you were approaching?

In all honesty, I had no idea. We obviously don’t focus on that and it’s not a huge priority for me. But of course it’s real nice. It’s a nice honor to have but it’s a tribute to my assistant coaches and the team obviously. You can’t do it without those guys.

Individually, Micah Burak has come in second at EIWAs the last three years – what’s his mentality going into this and what would it mean to him and the program if he can win one?

Micah’s pretty even-keel. I don’t think he’s really dwelling on being runner-up for three straight years. But obviously you always want to go out on top. Micah’s training pretty hard right now. Nothing is guaranteed but he’s somewhat of an overwhelming favorite.

Who are some other guys we should really keep our eye on for this tournament?

My other senior, Mark Rappo, has a pretty tough weight but he’s pretty focused right now. On the younger side, at 133, Jeff Canforo has been wrestling pretty well for us lately. Casey Kent had a great year already for us. I just think up and down the line, the guys have wrestled pretty well all year and we should keep an eye on all of them.

Are you looking ahead to the NCAAs yet and what can we expect there?

Sure, you always look ahead and you always make sure you prepare as best you can. This tournament is vitally important to the seeding for the NCAA tournament. So a kid like C.J. Cobb, a kid like Rappo, Burak, they can solidify their seeds and earn a seed as well. But being in arguably the second toughest league in the country helps these guys quite a bit prepare for the NCAAs.

As a former Olympic wrestler, what was your reaction when you saw the news that the sport was being dropped from the Olympics?

It was kind of a shock. I’m not in day-to-day contact with USA wrestling, so I don’t know what they’ve known for years. It kind of sounds like that rumor’s been around for a while. There was always a rumor of Greco being the discipline to be dropped. But never did I ever think that wrestling would be dropped. I think that’s what hurts a little bit. It sounds like there wasn’t much done when the signs were there.

Is there anything that can be done to save the sport in the Olympics?

Yeah, collectively all the countries throughout the world have come together. USA Wrestling was just over in Iran at a huge tournament and a local kid, Jordan Burroughs, became a hero over there. So the fact that it can bring such opposite countries together I think has brought a lot of world recognition. We’re not the most popular sport as far as mainstream. But when it can bring something like that together, I think it shows the importance of the sport and I think that’s going to weigh heavy on the IOC’s decision – hopefully.

So they have to meet in May in St. Petersburg. There’s one spot left and I believe there are eight sports vying for that one spot. So they give a presentation and the IOC in September votes on one sport they want to bring back. Again, it seems like from what I’ve followed, it lit a fire under everybody and they got organized and they have a very powerful plan in place to present to the IOC.

You had mentioned popularity. Do you wish the sport were more popular? And specifically, do you wish the Penn program were more popular on campus?

Sure. It doesn’t have to be the NBA or the NFL but with the time and dedication these kids put in they deserve that attention. It’s a shame because if you’re just a general fan and you haven’t wrestled before it’s hard to understand what these guys go through. But it is right now one of the fastest growing sports at the youth level. So that’s obviously very encouraging. And hopefully those kids will stick with it as long as they can and then their kids will continue. Hopefully it will grow a little bit. But I think what happened with the Olympics obviously brought a lot of attention to it and it piqued a lot of interest and I think and how we handle it from here can really help the sport.

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February 22, 2013 · 12:45 am

Penn women’s basketball team doing new things every day

Penn women's hoops

What can we expect when the Penn women’s basketball team welcomes Cornell and Columbia to the Palestra for a pair of Ivy League games this weekend?

If recent history is any indication, it seems that, well, anything could happen.

If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s quick look at some of the historic and bizarre moments the Quaker women have gone accomplished/endured over the past couple of weeks.

  • On Tuesday, freshman guard Keiera Ray was named the National Player
    Keiera Ray had a breakout performance last weekend

    Keiera Ray had a breakout performance last weekend

    of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association after scoring 50 points in two games. It was the first time anyone at Penn has ever won that award (male or female).

  • On Saturday, Penn beat Dartmouth by the score of 63-40, the largest margin of victory in 68 all-time meetings with the Big Green.
  • That win also clinched Penn’s first weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth in nine years.
  • One night earlier, the Quakers beat Harvard for the first time in nine years, snapping a 17-game losing streak against the Crimson. It was also their first time beating Harvard at home since 2001.
  • Five days before that, Penn posted its second-largest win over Brown in program history, beating the Bears on the road, 65-48 even though the game was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday and came at the end of an exhausting road trip to New England (more on that below). Penn now owns its first-ever three-game winning streak in Providence.
  • One night before knocking off Brown, the Quakers ended up playing in a
    Here is where Penn played Yale two weeks ago

    Here is where Penn played Yale two weeks ago

    PRACTICE GYM at Yale after a blizzard dropped three feet of snow on New Haven, forced the game to be rescheduled several times and caused a leak in Yale’s normal arena, the Lee Ampitheater. Throw in the fact that Penn’s team hotel was nearly evacuated the night before the game at 4 a.m. because of flooding and you have a few reasons why Penn dropped a 65-56 decision to the Bulldogs.

It’s actually a shame Penn had to play Yale in such unique circumstances because, led by junior Alyssa Baron, sophomore Kara Boneberger and freshman Ray, the Quakers are looking like an Ivy League title contender. Coach Mike McLaughlin’s squad is currently alone in second place, two games behind powerhouse Princeton.  Had Penn beaten Yale, perhaps Princeton might be feeling the heat even more.

But at least the Quakers were good sports about it their wild, snow-filled weekend in New England. Take a look at this cool video below to see what I mean.

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February 15, 2013 · 7:53 am

On This Date – 2003

I still remember back in November of 2002 when I asked every basketball coach in the city who the favorite was to win the Big 5. I was a reporter for the Daily Pennsylvanian then, and I wasn’t sure how they would respond. But all of the coaches practically laughed at my face because the answer was so obvious.

It was Penn. Of course it was Penn.

(Imagine that being the case today.)

Returning everyone from a 2001-02 team that went 4-0 in the Big 5 and battled back from three early league losses to win the Ivy title, expectations were certainly soaring for the Quakers heading into the 2002-03 campaign. And the excitement on campus was palpable, with some people predicting that the team could be the best one since the Jerome Allen-Matt Maloney days in the early 1990s – or maybe even before then.

Today, the players on Fran Dunphy’s 2002-03 squad – a group led by point guard Andy Toole C’03, forwards Ugonna Onyekwe W’03 and Koko Archibong C’03, sharpshooters Tim Begley W’05 and Jeff Schiffner C’04, and sixth man Dave Klatsky W’03 – will probably tell you they underachieved because they didn’t win a game in the NCAA tournament.

But that’s not entirely fair.

The team still boasted a sterling 22-6 overall record, dismantled USC by 38 points by shooting a school-record 72 percent from the field, and raced through the Ivy League unbeaten to earn a second straight 11 seed in the NCAA tournament.

How hard is it go 14-0 in the Ivy League? The 2002-03 squad is the last team at Penn to do it and only the seventh in program history to accomplish the feat (with the others being the 1969-70, 1970-71, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1999-2000 teams).

In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the 2002-03 Ivy champs, I decided to take a look back at one of that season’s most memorable wins – a 73-66 win over Brown on this date in 2003. And I decided to do so with the help of Klatsky, who buried probably the biggest three-pointer of his career with 40 seconds left to turn a two-point lead into a five-point lead and sent the Palestra crowd into frenzy.

You can watch the shot here.

Now let’s turn it over to Klatksy – an assistant coach at Colgate – who was kind enough to offer his thoughts of that game, the unlikely rivalry with Brown and the season in general…

Klatsky

After starting as the team’s point guard as a sophomore, Klatsky became an effective bench player during his junior and senior years.

On what he was thinking before making the shot:

“Koko, what are you doing – why are you passing me the ball with three seconds on the shot clock?  Oh, you’re passing it to me? OK, I’ll shoot it – thank god Forte is letting me shoot it.”

On his reaction after making the shot:

“I had just hit one of two threes so that third one really was make or break. If I make it, I finish the last couple minutes hitting two huge threes. But if I miss it, then I took two huge threes and missed both of them. I loved taking huge shots but I sure am glad I hit two of three and didn’t miss two of three.”

On the rivalry with Brown:

“We knew the Ivies were going to be really strong that year. Yale was still a great team but they lost some close ones early, Princeton was very solid that year and we knew Brown had a chance to be good in the preseason because they returned the nucleus of their team. By the time the first meeting rolled around we knew they were a legitimate threat. They had really good players and had a lot of experience. Both of the Brown games that year were unforgettable. I’ll never forget going to play at their place later that year which was basically for the championship (since it would put us two games up) and having their fans line the sidewalks when our bus arrived. If that wasn’t enough, they had Chris Berman announce the starting lineups. You couldn’t ask for a more electric atmosphere for a college basketball game.”

[Editor’s note: Then-Brown coach Glen Miller added flames to the rivalry when, shortly after Klatsky’s shot and Penn’s win at the Palestra, he told reporters that his team “got jammed up our asses by three officials” and that they “outplayed [Penn] the whole freakin’ game.” Those unsportsmanlike comments made his hiring at Penn three years later troublesome to some fans and alumni.]

On going 14-0 in the league:

“We had a lot of expectations coming in to the year and that caught up with us early as we dropped two of three to start the season and then got smoked at Colorado. I don’t think anyone truthfully expected a 14-0 Ivy season with as good as the Ivies were that season. It helped that we were a veteran team and knew how to win games. Unless you’ve played in the Ivies, it’s hard to explain how tough it is to play and win on the road in those back-to-back games.”

On some of his best memories of the season:

  • Going to California and having Koko’s family take care of us all and then having what seemed like everyone he ever talked to come support us at the Forum for what is arguably the best Penn game in history when we shot 80 percent in the first half and beat USC by 40.
  • Playing that season with NB on our shorts in tribute to Tim Begley’s father Neil who passed away before the season.
  • Playing a tough Oklahoma State team in the first round of the tourney and loving the matchup when it showed up on TV and hating it when we realized how good their guards were – i.e. Tony Allen.
  • Being disappointed that we didn’t make noise in the NCAA tourney because I had such confidence in our team and truly believed we had the capabilities to make a run. In that respect, as well as we did, it still seems like we underachieved.
  • In the last game of the season, we already clinched the Ivies but we still had our game at Princeton left. It’s Penn-Princeton, so records don’t really matter. As we got to Jadwin, Andy Toole realized he didn’t pack his shoes. As Toole warmed up in running shoes, our managers were on the horn trying to get a hold of a friend who was coming to the game. Luckily for us, our friend Matt Mezvinsky was able to bring the shoes to Andy ten minutes before game time.  I’m pretty sure Coach Dunph never knew about this.”

Many thanks to Klatsky for sharing such great memories from such a special season – and a special shot.

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February 10, 2013 · 1:44 pm

Penn’s walking wounded

Dougherty

Dougherty

Fran Dougherty wore a black shirt and a blue sling. Steve Rennard wore a gray shirt and a black boot.

Sitting near them on the Penn bench were two other players in street clothes, freshman Julian Harrell and sophomore Simeon Esprit, as well as at least one hobbled player in uniform, freshman Darius Nelson-Henry.

Such is the way it’s gone for the Penn basketball team over the past few years: lots of injuries, lots of bad luck, and now, it appears, a sixth straight season without an

Rennard

Rennard

Ivy League championship.

Days after Penn head coach Jerome Allen revealed to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia that key junior starters Dougherty (dislocated elbow) and Rennard  (plantar fascia tear) were likely done for the year, Penn fell to Yale on Friday at the Palestra  for its third Ivy League loss.

Despite responding with an impressive 23-pount rout of Brown the next night, the loss to Yale effectively eliminated Penn (5-17 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) from Ivy

Nelson-Henry

Nelson-Henry

title contention. Only four times before (in 2001-02, 1986-87, 1984-85 and 1979-80) has Penn still captured an Ivy title with three or more league losses, and the league is a lot more top-heavy now than it was in those years.

There’s an interesting post on the Penn message boards that lays out all of the injuries, as well as players transferring, quitting or being ruled ineligible, since the title drought began in 2007-08. Of course there have been other problems – but it’s hard not to look at that long list and wonder if the state of the program might be better if not for some bad luck.

Few players have had as much bad luck as Dougherty, who was enjoying a breakout junior campaign this year before getting sick with mononucleosis and missing eight straight games. And then after smiling from ear-to-ear after returning for last Friday’s game vs. Columbia, he dislocated his elbow the next night vs. Cornell.

Just brutal.

And then there’s Darien Nelson-Henry, one of the most exciting freshman prospects in years. The burly center didn’t play during crunch time in Friday’s game vs. Yale – certainly a contributing factor to the loss – and then sat out the whole game vs. Brown with his left knee heavily bandaged.

Nelson-Henry’s status for the rest of the season is uncertain at this point. But if recent history is any indication, luck won’t be on the Quakers’ side.

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February 1, 2013 · 5:43 pm

Penn’s Super Bowl connection

Flacco_1982 (3)When the Minnesota Vikings (who have former Penn safety Kevin Stefanski C’04 on its coaching staff) lost in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs and then the Green Bay Packers (who have former Penn offensive lineman Greg Van Roten W’12 on its roster) lost a week later, it looked like Penn wouldn’t have any representatives in Sunday’s Super Bowl pitting the San Francisco 49ers against the Baltimore Ravens.

But fear not, Penn football fans. There is, in fact, another connection. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco’s father, Steve Flacco W’83, played football at Penn – and may have had one of the most important catches in program history.

Earlier this week, Philadelphia Daily News columnist and Penn graduate Rich Hofmann W’80 penned a great piece on his memories of the elder Flacco, who’s been interviewed a lot recently as media outlets around the country are trying to paint a picture of the Ravens starting QB. (The quote that’s getting the most attention is from a New York Times piece that quotes Steve as saying, “Joe is dull. As dull as he is portrayed in the media, he’s that dull. He is dull.”)

Hofmann focused on Penn’s 1982 win over Harvard for the Ivy League championship – which was dubbed “The Miracle on 33rd Street.” The game is best known for kicker Dave Shulman W’84 missing a game-winning field goal attempt as time expired but getting a second chance after a Harvard player was called for a roughing-the-kicker penalty. With no time left on the clock, Shulman made his next kick to send the Quakers to their first league title since 1959 — which, in many ways kickstarted, a sustained period of Ivy dominance at Franklin Field that still lasts today.

1982 Harvard FFI Cover

But what people may not remember from that legendary game is that it was Flacco who made the last catch of the drive right before Shulman took the field, getting Penn from the 33-yard-line to the 20-yard-line to put the Quakers into field goal range. You can watch the catch-and-run at the 2:00 minute mark of the video below.

And just three weeks before his heroics vs. Harvard, Flacco made another huge play, running for an 83-yard touchdown in a 27-14 victory over Yale. You can watch the video of that run here (the announcers say it was teammate Steve Rubin but it was actually Flacco.)

And finally, thanks to Eric Dolan in the Penn Athletics office, here are a couple of old photos of Flacco from his days at Franklin Field. Take a look at these and then raise a glass to dear old Penn as you watch the big game Sunday.
Flacco_1982 (1)Flacco_1982 (2)

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January 16, 2013 · 1:23 am

Midseason basketball report: Can the Quakers’ downward spiral be stopped?

Nelson-Henry

Freshman Darius Nelson-Henry has been a recent bright spot for Penn

PRINCETON, N.J. – Lots of familiar words were being thrown around in the postgame press conference at Princeton on Saturday.

Following another disappointing loss in a season filled with them, Penn head coach Jerome Allen talked about how the team is young but that they can’t use that as a “cheap crutch” (which has become one of his signature phrases this season). He said the expectations remain high because of the tradition of the program. He refused to overly praise the opponent, instead harping on his own team’s shortcomings and lack of urgency. He dismissed the idea that leading scorer Fran Dougherty being out with mono is hurting the team.

Basically, Allen said all the same things he’s been saying for most of the season – which has been, in no uncertain terms, a very poor one (as the Quakers’ Ivy League-opening loss to Princeton, 2-13 record and dreadfully low RPI all indicate).

But following Allen’s turn in front of reporters, Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson also said something familiar. Following in the same vein as Butler coach Brad Stevens, La Salle coach John Giannini and Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon, Henderson said the Quakers are on the verge of being a much better team.

“I see the record in front of me,” Henderson noted, “but they’re bubbling.”

Are these coaches simply being nice after a win? Maybe. Is it just false hope? Perhaps. Is there also a chance Penn won’t get any better this year? Certainly. Do the glory days when Penn would compete for an Ivy title year after year seem excruciatingly far away? Definitely.

But what if these coaches are right? What if Penn is able to cut down on its turnovers and fouls and all of the other issues that have plagued them through the first half of the season? Perhaps this is being overly optimistic, but at the midway point of the 2012-13 season, we present five reasons why the future of the Penn men’s basketball program may in fact be bright.

1. The freshmen: In the last few games, we’ve gotten a good glimpse into the potential of guard Tony Hicks and center Darius Nelson-Henry. And by the looks of it, these two guys will be big-time players for the next three-and-a-half seasons. Hicks has the unique ability (at least by Ivy League standards) of being to break down almost anyone off the dribble and finish his drives – and Allen has slowly been increasing his minutes and putting the ball in his hands in big moments. And Nelson-Henry has been effectively using his 6-foot-11, 265-pound frame to become a very good post player. A high-scoring guard and a talented center sounds like a pretty good foundation, doesn’t it? (The jury’s still out on point guard Jamal Lewis, who’s mostly struggled this season, and Julian Harrell, who’s been sidelined with an injury.)

2. The big men: The absence of Dougherty has allowed Nelson-Henry to shine. But what about when Dougherty comes back? Assuming he can return for the start of the Friday-Saturday Ivy games in February (which, granted, is a big assumption), Allen will have a very nice stable of frontcourt players at his disposal. On top of Nelson-Henry and Dougherty, there’s also starting forwards Henry Brooks and Greg Louis, both of whom are foul-prone but talented. All of these players still have improvements to make but it’s hard to remember a recent time when Penn had this many promising big men.

3. The ability to come back: This one might not mean much to the people that only look at wins and losses but the old never-say-die cliché certainly applies to this team. Against Lafayette last Tuesday, the Quakers erased a 17-point deficit to tie the game – before losing by two. At Princeton on Saturday, they trimmed a 20-point deficit down to 10 to make sure the game wasn’t a blowout.  And in their season-opening win over UMBC, they came back from 22 points down – the largest comeback in program history. Considering they’re one of the youngest teams in the country, this could be an indicator that they’re indeed “bubbling.”

4. Dau Jok: The junior guard will never be a star. But if you’re looking for good players to root for, he’s your man. Jok didn’t play much during his first two seasons but was always the first one out on the floor to congratulate teammates and often stayed late in the gym after games to work on his shot. Because of that, Jok was named a tri-captain (along with Dougherty and Miles Cartwright) this season and has since enjoyed some nice games, showcasing a much-improved jump shot, terrific hustle and excellent rebounding ability. And off the court, he’s just a model citizen, having already started a foundation to fight poverty in his native South Sudan.

5. Next year’s recruits: Granted, the recruiting game is often a crapshoot and it’s hard to know who the best players will be. But next year’s class – Allen’s third – seems to be his most promising one yet, with point guard Tony Bagtas and high-scoring swingman Matt Howard turning down offers from bigger programs to come to Penn. Both players could immediately fill needs, and Dave Winfield Jr., the son of the former Major League Baseball star, is an exciting prospect too. Plus, maybe having a Baseball Hall of Famer come to the Palestra will be good for karma, right?

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January 4, 2013 · 5:22 pm

Here’s a toast to dear old Penn

This past year was a great one for Penn sports, as I tried to document with this list of memorable games. But it was also a sad one, as a few Quaker legends passed away. Here’s a brief tribute to some of the ones we lost in 2012:

George Savitsky Ed’48 D’54 GD’59

July 30, 1924 – September 4, 2012

George SavitskyA four-time All-American from 1944-47, Savitsky was one of the greatest football players ever to play for Penn – during one of the program’s greatest stretches.

Led by the bruising offensive tackle, the Quakers were ranked 10th in the nation in 1945, 13th in 1946 and seventh in 1947 (which stands as the program’s highest finish ever).

Savitsky, who was also a member of the track and field and wrestling teams while at Penn, was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947 and won NFL championships in 1948 and 1949 with the Birds, before returning to Penn to study to become a dentist. He lived most of his life as an oral surgeon in New Jersey.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991 and was also a member of the second class to be inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.

Bob Odell C’43

March 5, 1922 – December 15, 2012

Bob Odell 1Another standout football player from the 1940s, Odell did it all for the Quakers as one of the last great iron-man players. He ran, passed, punted, received, returned kickoffs and punts and played defense from 1940-43, winning the Maxwell Trophy and coming in second in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior in 1943.

He was drafted into the NFL in 1944 but instead served two years in the United States Navy, before giving up football due to a knee injury. But he only gave up playing football and quickly got into coaching, compiling an overall record of 136-95-5 as the head coach for Bucknell, Penn and Williams.

He was the head coach at Penn from 1965 to 1970 before taking over at Williams.

He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 1992 and was a charter member of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.

Dick Harter Ed’53

October 14, 1930 – March 12, 2012

dick harterA basketball lifer, Harter is perhaps best known for coaching Penn to a perfect regular season in 1970-71 that ended in devastating fashion.

Before that, Harter played for the Quakers as a reserve guard, was an assistant coach for Penn after graduating and returned to his alma mater as head coach in 1966 after a brief stint at Rider. His 1969-70 and 1970-71 teams were two of the best in program history – and his Marine-like intensity was a big reason why.

In 1971 Harter left Penn to coach the University of Oregon, where his teams were known as the “Kamikaze Kids” because of their fast-paced defensive style. He later coached at Penn State and then spent many years as an NBA coach (for the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Portland Trailblazers, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers).

Harter was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1993. Three years later, he was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame.

Albert Richmond “Boo” Morcom

May 1, 1921 – October 3, 2012

Morcom2A track and field star at the University of New Hampshire and an Olympian, Morcom came to Penn in 1948 to be an assistant coach for the Quakers’ track program.

Two years later, he was recalled for duty in the Korean War (where he served as an office and jumpmaster in the 101st Airborne Division known as “The Screaming Eagles”) before returning to Penn, where he spent 35 years as an assistant coach, a head coach and, finally, the director of intramural athletics.

During his lifetime, Boo was elected into seven halls of fame, including the Braintree High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the UNH Athletic Hall of Fame, the Pole Vault Hall of Fame, the Massachusetts Track Coaches Hall of Fame, and as a coach in the Women’s Track and Field Hall of Fame.

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