Post by stagthomas on May 14, 2014 19:20:53 GMT -5
Interestingly enough...
"He also served as former Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Columbia University and Clark University, where he also served as Director of Athletics and Recreation. Mr. Halas has been selected to both the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Clark University Athletic Hall of Fame."
Seems like a very good Advancement/Development/AR hire with a strong basketball background (Clark 1974-87 and Columbia 1987-1990) from bigger than the MAAC programs. As a "former" graduate of Fairfield Prep (1969), he should be very familiar with Alumni Hall with it's condition and the need for renovation funding.
Post by nashvillestag on May 14, 2014 23:52:23 GMT -5
Great hire by the university for sure! Wally is well known in Fairfield to anyone who grew up in town and has a passion for sports, and certainly doubly so for those who were members of the Wakeman Boys and Girls Club in their younger years. He was a great basketball player at Prep and then Clark University, had some very good years as the head coach at Clark, and has been involved in many different areas of business and fund raising after that. He indeed has a great reputation for communicating with people, a trait that I think will serve him well in this new venture.
Wally Halas came from a great era of Basketball in the Bridgeport area. I believe he was on the same teams as Jim Fitsimmons (Prep/Duke), and the same era as Mack and Sparks of Central, and Super John Williamson of New Haven. Tremendous hire.
It will be interesting to see if the hiring of Wally Halas as VP of University Advancement with his basketball and fundraising experiences will mean a new era of coordination and more cooperation between Athletics and Alumni Relations/Development in getting more of our fellow alumni connected/reconnected with Stag Basketball and the other Stag programs at the games, with Team Stag, Lyons-Lademan Fund, the Stags Club and increased funding for the renovation of the on campus athletic facilities - Rafferty Stadium, Alumni Hall and Alumni Baseball Diamond?
Wally Halas, founder and managing director of Always Play Fair LLC, has spent more than 30 years in the education and athletic fields. One could say it’s in his genes. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Halas hails from a noted coaching family. His father was a scout for the Chicago Bears for 25 years, his grandfather was Knute Rockne’s backfield coach for Notre Dame and his granduncle was the famed founder, coach, president and owner of the Chicago Bears, George “Papa Bear” Halas.
Considered one of the finest basketball players in New England history, Halas starred on the hardwood at Clark. He was a four-year starter, earning All-New England and team MVP honors in each of his last three seasons. He received the Bob Cousy Award as New England’s outstanding college basketball player under 6-feet tall. Halas also played baseball and soccer for Clark. He graduated with a degree in Government and soon followed that with a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in educational administration.
Coaching was the natural next step for Halas. He spent 16 years as a college basketball head coach, the first 13 at Clark University in Worcester, MA, the next three at Columbia University. Halas’ teams won 251 games and lost only 163, a percentage of .606. He led Clark to 10 consecutive NCAA tournament berths – the Cougars won 20 or more games in eight of those seasons – resulting in five NCAA regional championships and two appearances in the Division III national championship game. He was elected New England Coach of the Year five times. His years recruiting at Columbia were marked by his players earning twice as many first team all-Ivy selections as Princeton, Penn and Yale! Wally is a member of the inaugural classes of both the Clark University Athletic Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
After leaving Columbia, Wally went on to another type of coaching – coaching scholar-athletes from around the world. In his position as Commissioner of the Scholar-Athlete Games, Halas developed, organized, and administered this biennial $3.2 million event involving over 7,000 participants from 186 countries and all 50 states. The Games, administered in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003 were created to promote understanding, acceptance and friendship among future young leaders of the world through experiences in sport, the arts and education. The Games have also been administered overseas in Australia, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Israel.
