{"id":10750,"date":"2018-04-26T13:56:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T17:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=10750"},"modified":"2022-03-22T12:13:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T16:13:36","slug":"rolla-anderson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/rolla-anderson\/","title":{"rendered":"Anderson, Longtime Men\u2019s Athletics Director, Dies at 97"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rolla
A memorial service for Rolla Anderson will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in Stetson Chapel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rolla Anderson, namesake of the Rolla L. Anderson Athletic Center<\/a> on Kalamazoo College\u2019s campus, died on Wednesday, April 25. He was 97 years old.<\/p>\n

Anderson came to K in 1953 and was director of men\u2019s athletics<\/a> until his retirement in 1985. In 1962, he led the Hornets to an undefeated\u00a0football<\/a> season and was named Michigan Coach of the Year in news media balloting. Under him, the team again won the MIAA championship in 1963. He also led teams to championships as a coach in tennis<\/a>, golf<\/a> and cross country<\/a>, and he coached basketball<\/a>. Anderson was a long-time director of the\u00a0United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys\u2019 18 & 16 National Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerations of Kalamazoo College student-athletes benefited from Rolla\u2019s guidance and leadership,\u201d said President Jorge G. Gonzalez. \u201cHe was well-known for tirelessly stressing the importance of sound physical education<\/a> in the liberal arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Named a professor of physical education in 1965, he continued to be an active and enthusiastic supporter of the College in retirement, and was a leader in Kalamazoo civic organizations and the USTA.<\/p>\n

Anderson Athletic Center was dedicated in his name in 1981, and he was inducted into the Kalamazoo College Athletic Hall of Fame<\/a> in 1992. In 1997, he received the Kalamazoo College Alumni Association\u2019s Weimer K. Hicks Award<\/a>, which recognizes employees who have made exceptional long-term contributions to the College.<\/p>\n

\"RollaA 1944 graduate of Western Michigan University, he was a star in basketball and football there and was inducted into the university\u2019s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. He also is in the hall of fame at Southeast Missouri State University, where he was a member of a championship basketball team before transferring to Western.<\/p>\n

He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia, in 2010.<\/p>\n

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in Stetson Chapel, followed by a time to visit with the family. Anderson\u2019s family has asked memorial gifts be made to the\u00a0Rolla and Pat Anderson\u00a0Athletic Endowment\u00a0at Kalamazoo College, a fund that will support the Hornets in perpetuity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rolla Anderson, namesake of the Rolla L. Anderson Athletic Center on Kalamazoo College\u2019s campus, died on Wednesday, April 25. He was 97 years old. Anderson came to K in 1953 and was director of men\u2019s athletics until his retirement in 1985. In 1962, he led the Hornets to an undefeated\u00a0football season and was named Michigan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":10759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[36,62],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-10750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-staff","tag-athletics","tag-phys-ed"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAnderson, Longtime Men's Athletic Director, Dies at 97<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rolla Anderson, namesake of the Rolla L. Anderson Athletic Center on Kalamazoo College\u2019s campus, died Wednesday, April 25. 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aria-label=\"archive of category Faculty & Staff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/faculty-staff\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Faculty & Staff<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/athletics\/\" rel=\"tag\">athletics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/phys-ed\/\" rel=\"tag\">phys ed<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/rolla-anderson\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/rolla-anderson\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/rolla-anderson\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<figure id=\"attachment_10762\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10762\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10762\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Late-Kalamazoo-College-Mens-Athletics-Director-Rolla-Anderson-300x475.jpg\" alt=\"Rolla Anderson\" width=\"300\" height=\"475\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial service for Rolla Anderson will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in Stetson Chapel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rolla Anderson, namesake of the Rolla L. Anderson <a href=\"https:\/\/map.concept3d.com\/?id=198#!m\/17909?ce\/1843?ct\/0,1843\">Athletic Center<\/a> on Kalamazoo College\u2019s campus, died on Wednesday, April 25. He was 97 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson came to K in 1953 and was director of men\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/landing\/index\/\">athletics<\/a> until his retirement in 1985. In 1962, he led the Hornets to an undefeated\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/fball\/index\">football<\/a> season and was named Michigan Coach of the Year in news media balloting. Under him, the team again won the MIAA championship in 1963. He also led teams to championships as a coach in <a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/mten\/index\">tennis<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/mgolf\/index\">golf<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/mxc\/index\">cross country<\/a>, and he coached <a href=\"http:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/mbkb\/index\">basketball<\/a>. Anderson was a long-time director of the\u00a0United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys\u2019 18 & 16 National Championships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenerations of Kalamazoo College student-athletes benefited from Rolla\u2019s guidance and leadership,\u201d said President Jorge G. Gonzalez. \u201cHe was well-known for tirelessly stressing the importance of sound <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.kzoo.edu\/pe\/\">physical education<\/a> in the liberal arts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Named a professor of physical education in 1965, he continued to be an active and enthusiastic supporter of the College in retirement, and was a leader in Kalamazoo civic organizations and the USTA.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson Athletic Center was dedicated in his name in 1981, and he was inducted into the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/awards-nominations\/athletic-hall-of-fame\/\">Kalamazoo College Athletic Hall of Fame<\/a> in 1992. In 1997, he received the Kalamazoo College Alumni Association\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/awards-nominations\/weimer-k-hicks-award\/\">Weimer K. Hicks Award<\/a>, which recognizes employees who have made exceptional long-term contributions to the College.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10759\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/04\/Rolla-1-300x300.png\" alt=\"Rolla Anderson obit 1920-2018\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/>A 1944 graduate of Western Michigan University, he was a star in basketball and football there and was inducted into the university\u2019s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. He also is in the hall of fame at Southeast Missouri State University, where he was a member of a championship basketball team before transferring to Western.<\/p>\n<p>He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia, in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in Stetson Chapel, followed by a time to visit with the family. Anderson\u2019s family has asked memorial gifts be made to the\u00a0Rolla and Pat Anderson\u00a0Athletic Endowment\u00a0at Kalamazoo College, a fund that will support the Hornets in perpetuity.<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10750"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15838,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750\/revisions\/15838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10750"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=10750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}