Harold G. Olsen (May 12, 1895 – October 29, 1953) was a college men's basketball coach. The Rice Lake, Wisconsin native was the head coach of the Ohio State University from 1922 to 1946. That year, he became the first head coach of the BAA's Chicago Stags, where he coached almost three seasons before being replaced by Philip Brownstein. Olsen also coached at Northwestern University (1950–1952).

Harold Olsen
Olsen from the 1946 Makio
Biographical details
Born(1895-05-12)May 12, 1895
Rice Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedOctober 29, 1953(1953-10-29) (aged 58)
Rice Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1914–1917Wisconsin
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1918–1919Bradley
1919–1922Ripon
1922–1946Ohio State
1946–1949Chicago Stags
1950–1952Northwestern
Football
1919–1921Ripon
Baseball
1919Bradley
Head coaching record
Overall311–241 (college basketball)
95–63 (BAA)
13–6–1 (college football)
0–1 (college baseball)
Tournaments6–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Basketball
5 Big Ten (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946)
NCAA Runner-up (1939)
3 NCAA Final Four (1944–1946)
Awards
Helms Foundation All-American (1917)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1959 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

While playing at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1914–1917), Olsen was named to the All-Big Ten twice for basketball.[1] After graduating from Wisconsin, he began his coaching career at Bradley University and Ripon College. In 1922, Olsen followed George Trautman as head coach of the Ohio State University. In 24 years he guided the Buckeyes to a 259–197 record, as well as five Big Ten championships (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946). He served as a chair on the NCAA Basketball Committee. Olsen helped initiate the 10-second rule in 1937, which requires teams to advance the ball over the center line within 10 seconds of gaining possession. In 1939, Olsen spearheaded efforts to create the NCAA postseason national playoffs, now known as the NCAA tournament, one that could compete with the National Invitational Tournament, which started play in 1938 with games hosted at Madison Square Garden in New York. The first NCAA tournament in 1939 saw Northwestern University host eight teams. Oregon beat Ohio State to become the first tournament champion in a format that has expanded several times to go with its popularity as the premier tournament for college basketball.

In 1959, he was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.

Head coaching record

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College football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Ripon Crimson (Independent) (1919–1921)
1919 Ripon 6–1
1920 Ripon 4–3
1921 Ripon 3–2–1
Ripon: 13–6–1
Total: 13–6–1

College basketball

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Bradley Indians (Independent) (1918–1919)
1918–19 Bradley 6–9
Bradley: 6–9 (.400)
Ripon Crimson (Independent) (1919–1922)
1919–20 Ripon 11–2
1920–21 Ripon 9–3
1921–22 Ripon 7–5
Ripon: 27–10 (.730)
Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (1922–1946)
1922–23 Ohio State 4–11 1–11 T–9th
1923–24 Ohio State 12–5 7–5 4th
1924–25 Ohio State 14–2 11–1 1st
1925–26 Ohio State 10–7 6–6 5th
1926–27 Ohio State 11–6 6–6 7th
1927–28 Ohio State 5–12 3–9 T–7th
1928–29 Ohio State 9–8 6–6 T–5th
1929–30 Ohio State 9–15 1–9 9th
1930–31 Ohio State 4–13 3–9 9th
1931–32 Ohio State 9–9 5–7 6th
1932–33 Ohio State 17–3 10–2 T–1st
1933–34 Ohio State 8–12 4–8 T–8th
1934–35 Ohio State 12–7 8–4 T–4th
1935–36 Ohio State 12–8 5–7 T–6th
1936–37 Ohio State 13–7 7–5 5th
1937–38 Ohio State 12–8 7–5 T–3rd
1938–39 Ohio State 16–7 10–2 1st NCAA Runner-up
1939–40 Ohio State 13–7 8–4 3rd
1940–41 Ohio State 10–10 7–5 T–3rd
1941–42 Ohio State 6–14 4–11 9th
1942–43 Ohio State 8–9 5–7 T–6th
1943–44 Ohio State 14–7 10–2 1st NCAA Final Four
1944–45 Ohio State 15–5 10–2 2nd NCAA Final Four
1945–46 Ohio State 16–5 10–2 1st NCAA Final Four
Ohio State: 259–197 (.568) 154–135 (.533)
Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Conference) (1950–1952)
1950–51 Northwestern 12–10 7–7 T–4th
1951–52 Northwestern 7–15 4–10 T–8th
Northwestern: 19–25 (.432) 11–17 (.393)
Total: 311–241 (.563)

      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

Professional basketball

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
CHS 1946–47 61 39 22 .639 1st in Western 11 5 6 .455 Lost in BAA Finals
CHS 1947–48 48 28 20 .583 3rd in Western 5 2 3 .400 Lost in BAA Semifinals
CHS 1948–49 49 28 21 .571 3rd in Western 2 0 2 .000 Lost in BAA Div. Semifinals
Career 158 95 63 .601 18 7 11 .389

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "March Madness ignited by UW–Madison grad | Wisconsin Alumni Association".
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