Ray Nagel facts for kids

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Ray Nagel

Biographical details
Born	(1927-05-18)May 18, 1927 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	January 15, 2015(2015-01-15) (aged 87) San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
1946–1949	UCLA
1953	Chicago Cardinals
Position(s)	Quarterback, halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1954	Oklahoma (assistant)
1955–1957	UCLA (backfield)
1958–1965	Utah
1966–1970	Iowa
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1971–1976	Washington State
1976–1983	Hawaii
1990–1995	Hula Bowl (exec. dir.)
Head coaching record
Overall	58–71–3
Bowls	1–0
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
WAC (1964)
Awards
Second-team All-PCC (1948) National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame (2006)

Raymond Robert Nagel (May 18, 1927 – January 15, 2015) was an important person in American football. He was a player, a coach, and later helped manage college sports programs. Nagel was the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965. He then coached at the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970. After coaching, he became an athletic director at Washington State University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. From 1990 to 1995, he was in charge of the Hula Bowl, a special college football game in Hawaii.

Early Years in Football

Nagle as a player for UCLA in 1947.

Ray Nagel was born in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in Southern California. He went to Los Angeles High School during World War II. He played quarterback for his high school football team. In 1944, he was chosen as one of the best players in the city.

After graduating in 1945, Nagel went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He played for the Bruins from 1946 to 1949. He was a quarterback and a halfback. His coach was Red Sanders. Nagel was named an all-Pacific Coast Conference player and was UCLA's Most Improved Player. He later earned several degrees from UCLA, including a law degree. He also worked as an assistant coach for the Bruins' football team.

In 1953, Nagel played one year of professional football. He joined the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League (NFL). He was both a player and a scout for the team. In 1954, he became an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma under coach Bud Wilkinson. After one season, he returned to UCLA to be an assistant coach for three more years.

Becoming a Head Coach

Coaching at Utah

In January 1958, Ray Nagel became the head coach at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He was only 30 years old, making him the youngest head coach in a major college at that time. He took over from Jack Curtice, who had coached Utah for eight seasons. Nagel's starting salary in 1958 was $12,000.

Nagel coached the Utah Utes for eight years, from 1958 to 1965. In 1962, Utah joined a new group called the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Nagel's teams at Utah had a record of 42 wins, 39 losses, and 1 tie. His 1964 team was very successful. They had great players like quarterback Pokey Allen and receiver Roy Jefferson. That year, they won the 1964 Liberty Bowl against West Virginia with a score of 32–6. The game was played indoors in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The team finished the season with an impressive 9 wins and 2 losses.

Coaching at Iowa

In December 1965, Nagel was hired as the head coach for Iowa football. He was 38 years old. Some people wondered about this choice because his last season at Utah had been 3 wins and 7 losses. The previous coach, Jerry Burns, had struggled, winning only sixteen games in five seasons.

The athletic director at Iowa, Forest Evashevski, was a very popular figure. He had been a successful coach for Iowa from 1952 to 1960. His teams won three Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowls. This made it a tough job for Nagel to follow.

Nagel brought a strong coaching team to Iowa, including George Seifert. The Hawkeyes were not expected to do well in 1966, and they finished with 2 wins and 8 losses. They had a big loss to Michigan State, giving up a lot of yards. The next season, 1967, was also tough, with only 1 win, 8 losses, and 1 tie.

After two years, Nagel's record was 3 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. He needed a good season in 1968. With players like Ed Podolak and Denny Green, Iowa had one of its best seasons in years. Their offense was very strong. A highlight was a 68–34 win over Northwestern. Iowa gained 639 total yards in that game, with Podolak rushing for 286 yards. Both were Big Ten records.

The 1968 Hawkeyes broke many school and conference offensive records. They scored the most points in conference games in Big Ten history. They also had the most total offense yards per game. Even though Iowa didn't have a winning record that year (5 wins, 5 losses), their four conference wins were the most since 1960. Fans were hopeful for 1969 because many young players were returning.

Team Challenges

The late 1960s were a time of big changes in the country. In the spring of 1969, Coach Nagel removed two players, Greg Allison and Charles Bolden, from the team. He said it was for "personal problems." This led to some disagreements among the players.

Some players felt that Allison and Bolden were dismissed unfairly. They asked for an apology from Coach Nagel, which he gave. However, a group of players decided not to come to spring practice. Nagel had a rule about missing practice without permission. He had dismissed a player for this in 1966. Because of this rule, Nagel immediately removed the sixteen players who boycotted practice from the team. Only four players chose not to join the boycott and continued to practice.

A few days later, a group called the Black Athletes Union shared their concerns. They felt that black athletes were not treated fairly. They presented a list of five requests to the university's athletic board. The board agreed to grant these requests. It was later said that the board had already agreed to these requests before the boycott happened.

The situation was not fully resolved until just before fall practice. Nagel said that players who wanted to return could talk to the team. The team would then vote on whether to let them rejoin. Twelve of the sixteen players asked to come back. The team voted to allow seven of them to rejoin. This included five younger players and two experienced players, one of whom was Dennis Green, who later became a famous coach.

This situation caused some difficulties for the team. Several players, including some who were not reinstated and others due to injuries or academics, did not return for the 1969 season. Despite the challenges, Iowa finished the 1969 season with 5 wins and 5 losses. This was seen as encouraging given all the problems. There was still hope for the 1970 season with many young players coming back.

A New Chapter

After the 1969 season, there was a report about the conflict between Coach Nagel and the athletic director, Forest Evashevski. The report suggested that Evashevski had been unfair to Nagel. Because of this strong support for Nagel, he was rehired for the last year of his contract. Evashevski was replaced by Bump Elliott.

Nagel's team finished the 1970 season with 3 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie. He was very tired from all the challenges. At the team's awards banquet, he praised his senior players. Then, with a shaky voice, he announced that he would not continue as coach at Iowa. He said he would not ask for his contract to be extended.

Becoming an Athletic Director

After leaving Iowa, Ray Nagel never coached a football team again. Instead, he became a successful athletic director. In May 1971, he became the athletic director at Washington State University.

During his five years at Washington State, Nagel started a fundraising group called the Cougar Club. He also helped raise money for the sports programs. He was part of the NCAA Football Rules Committee. He hired important coaches like basketball coach George Raveling and football coach Jackie Sherrill. In June 1976, he moved to the University of Hawaii and worked there as athletic director until 1983.

Nagel then worked for the Los Angeles Rams football team for one year in 1983. He returned to Hawaii in 1984 to work for the Bank of Hawaii. In 1989, he became the executive director of the Hula Bowl, a college football all-star game. He retired in 1995.

In June 2006, Ray Nagel was honored by being added to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

Ray Nagel and his wife, Shirley, had five children. They lived in San Antonio, Texas after he retired. Ray Nagel passed away on January 15, 2015, at the age of 87.

Head coaching record