James Robert Otto (August 23, 1919 – November 7, 1993) was an American college football and college basketball coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Buena Vista College—now known as Buena Vista University—in Storm Lake, Iowa from 1948 to 1952 and Mankato State College—now known as the Minnesota State University, Mankato—from 1953 to 1969.[1]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 23, 1919 Wesley, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | November 7, 1993 (aged 74) Mankato, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1939–1941 | Iowa |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1947 | Iowa (assistant freshmen) |
| 1948–1952 | Buena Vista |
| 1953–1969 | Mankato State |
| Basketball | |
| 1954–1955 | Mankato State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1948–1953 | Buena Vista |
| 1953–1983 | Mankato State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 97–90–9 (football) 18–4 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 Iowa Conference (1952) 1 Iowa Conference North Division (1952) 5 MSCC/NIC (1958–1961, 1968) Basketball 1 MSCC regular season (1955) | |
| Awards | |
| MSU Hall of Fame (1981) | |
A native of Fort Dodge, Iowa, Otto played football at the University of Iowa as a tackle from 1939 to 1941. Otto died from lung cancer, on November 7, 1993, at his home in Mankato, Minnesota.[2]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Beavers (Iowa Conference) (1948–1952) | |||||||||
| 1948 | Buena Vista | 4–3–1 | 1–2 | 7th | |||||
| 1949 | Buena Vista | 4–4–1 | 1–3 | T–8th | |||||
| 1950 | Buena Vista | 6–3 | 3–2 | 3rd (Northern) | |||||
| 1951 | Buena Vista | 5–4 | 3–2 | 3rd (Northern) | |||||
| 1952 | Buena Vista | 5–5 | 2–1 | 1st (Northern) | |||||
| Buena Vista: | 24–19–2 | 10—10 | |||||||
| Mankato State Indians (Minnesota State College Conference / Northern State College Conference / Northern Intercollegiate Conference) (1953–1968) | |||||||||
| 1953 | Mankato State | 1–7 | 1–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1954 | Mankato State | 2–7 | 1–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1955 | Mankato State | 4–5 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1956 | Mankato State | 6–2–1 | 1–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1957 | Mankato State | 2–6–1 | 1–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1958 | Mankato State | 7–2 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1959 | Mankato State | 6–3 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1960 | Mankato State | 5–3–1 | 4–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1961 | Mankato State | 6–3 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1962 | Mankato State | 4–4 | 3–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1963 | Mankato State | 4–4–1 | 3–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1964 | Mankato State | 2–7 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1965 | Mankato State | 5–3–1 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1966 | Mankato State | 3–4–2 | 2–2–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1967 | Mankato State | 5–4 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1968 | Mankato State | 5–4 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
| Mankato State Indians (NCAA College Division independent) (1969) | |||||||||
| 1969 | Mankato State | 6–3 | |||||||
| Mankato State: | 73–71–7 | 44–27–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 97–90–9 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Football All-Time Coaches Records". bvuathletics.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "Ex-Mankota St. coach Otto dies". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. November 9, 1993. p. 26. Retrieved December 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
.
