*DICK VOLIVA, Rutgers
coach was an extraordinary wrestler from the state
of Indiana. He placed 1,2,1 at the Indiana state championships,
then placed Big Ten 2,1 and NCAA 2, 1 for Indiana University in
’33,’34. As a junior at 175, Dick lost only to Iowa
State’s 2-time NCAA champion Bob Hess, before enjoying an
unbeaten senior season. His college record was 48-4 and he wrestled
for the 1932 Hoosier national title team, the Big Ten's first. From
1932 on, Voliva placed 2,3,1 at National AAUs. The title came in
1936, the same year he became an Olympic champion in Berlin.
After graduation, he was
commissioned an Army lieutenant colonel and served two years as an
Ohio State grad assistant. He began teaching at Montclair State and
launched their Div III wrestling program. He then served five years
in the Army and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Voliva returned
to NJ and became Rutgers coach in 1946. He coached the Scarlet
Knights 23 seasons, with a 142-71-7 dual record and eight EIWA
Champions. Dick served five years on the NCAA rules committee, two
of them as chairman. He was president of the EIWA and of the NWCA.
A Hoosier football star, Voliva received a special senior award. He
was inducted into the halls of fame for Indiana high schools and at
Indiana U; National Wrestling and HELMS. Dick passed away in 1999
in Amherst, MA at age 87.
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