HEAD COACHING HISTORY 1979-80 squads. From 1976-79, he posted a 5-0 Dave Connelly (1926-34 – 8 seasons) record against Big Ten teams, including wins (1946-47 – 1 season) over Michigan (twice), Ohio State, Indiana and Record: 48-77 (.384) Record: 18-6 (.750) Best year: 9-6 (1927-28) Iowa. The victory over IU came in the inaugural Best year: 18-6 (1946-47) game in Savage Hall, as UT upset the defending Connelly was also the head Bill Orwig served just one baseball coach from 1931-50, an national champion Hoosiers, 59-57, snapping year as the Rockets’ coach their 33-game win streak. assistant football coach for three and is one of few coaches to oversee two years, and UT athletic director from 1931 to sports at once. He also coached the UT Jay Eck 1949. In addition, he served the university as football team for two seasons (1946-47) to (1987-91 – 4 seasons) Dean of Men and is credited with writing the a 15-4-2 (.762) mark. Orwig returned to his Record: 62-57 (.521) school’s fight song, “U of Toledo.” alma mater, Michigan, in 1948 as a member Best year: 18-13 (1988-89) of the athletics administration, and became Eck came to UT from athletic director at Nebraska in 1954. He took Harold Anderson Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He the AD job at Indiana in 1961, hiring (1934-42 – 8 seasons) had previously been a top assistant at Pitts- as coach in 1971. Record: 142-41 (.776) burgh and Georgia Tech. Eck earned national Best year: 21-3 (1940-41) recognition as a rookie coach, posting a 10-1 Anderson brought the UT pro- non-conference record his first season at (1947-54 – 7 seasons) gram into national prominence UT, and recorded victories over Minnesota, Record: 127-58 (.686) with an appearance in the NIT in Pittsburgh, Houston and Cincinnati in his Best year: 21-5 (1947-48) 1942. Third on UT’s career coaching win list and four-year tenure. first in winning percentage, Anderson continued Jerry Bush became the fifth a successful career at Bowling Green State UT coach in seven seasons Larry Gipson University. He later became the first UT coach when he assumed the helm in (1991-96 – 5 seasons) inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 1947. Bush ranks fourth on the UT list of career Record: 68-73 (.482) coaching victories, and has the second-best Best year: 18-14 (1995-96) Burl Friddle career winning percentage of any Mid-American Gipson came to Toledo from Conference coach. In his last year — just the (1942-44 – 2 seasons) Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Rockets’ third as a member of the MAC — he where he won a junior college Record: 27-17 (.614) guided UT to the 1953-54 league title and a berth Best year: 22-4 (1942-43) national championship. Gipson led the Rockets in the NCAA Tournament. He left after that season to more wins in each successive season he He was only at UT for two seasons, to become the head coach at Nebraska. but Burl Friddle holds the distinction was at the helm, including three straight win- of coaching Toledo’s highest-finishing team in ning campaigns and an appearance in the MAC Eddie Melvin Tournament title game in his final season. history. The Rockets finished second in the 1943 (1954-65 – 11 seasons) NIT, at the time the most prominent postseason Record: 125-133 (.484) tournament. A high school coach in Indiana, Best year: 18-6 (1959-60) Friddle brought along many of his prep stars to Melvin is fifth on UT’s (1996-2008 — 12 seasons) Toledo. Dubbed “Friddle’s Freshmen,” they pro- career victory chart with 125 Record: 203-155 (.567) duced one of the best seasons (22-4) in school victories. Melvin came to the Best year: 22-11 (2000-01) history and helped bring national notoriety to the Rockets from St. Bonaventure, where he had Joplin guided the Rockets to UT basketball program. posted a 97-46 record. Nicknamed the “Iron their first MAC regular-season title Duke” from his days as an All-American cager in 27 years in the 2006-07 campaign. He also Rollie Boldt at Duquesne, Melvin was known for his fiery produced three 20-win seasons, the only of their kind at UT since the 1980-81 campaign. Joplin (1944-46 – 2 seasons) courtside manner. guided Toledo to four NIT appearances, four MAC Record: 29-11 (.725) West Division titles (1998-99, 1999-2000, 2004-05 Best year: 20-7 (1944-45) and 2006-07) and led the Rockets to a second- Like his predecessor, (1965-87 – 22 seasons) place West Division finish or better in eight of 11 Rollie Boldt spent just two Record: 376-212 (.639) seasons. The 1979 UT graduate concluded his seasons as head coach yet he Best year: 23-2 (1966-67) Rocket tenure in sixth place on the MAC’s all-time met with much success. He led the Rockets to Simply the most successful coaching win list. a 9-4 record during the 1944-45 season that coach in MAC history, Nichols was shortened by WWII. His next team raced won five conference titles and to an 11-1 start before finishing the season guided UT to 20 winning sea- sons in 22 years. His 1966-67 team posted the best record in school history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, as did his 1978-79 and EIGHT-TIME MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS UTROCKETS.COM /UTROCKETS @TOLEDOROCKETS @UTROCKETS 145