Eugene Van Gent
Conrad Eugene Van Gent (December 23, 1889 – June 12, 1949) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football at the University of Texas at Austin in 1916, at the University Farm, now the University of California, Davis, in 1920, and at Stanford University in 1921, compiling a career college football record of 14–8–3. Van Gent was also the head basketball coach at the University of Missouri (1914–1916), Texas (1916–1917), and Stanford (1921–1922), tallying a career college basketball mark of 42–19. Van Gent played football and basketball, and ran track at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was selected to the College Basketball All-American team in 1914.
 Van Gent from The Savitar, 1916 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 23, 1889 Iowa |
| Died | June 12, 1949 Solano County, California, USA |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1911, 1913 | Wisconsin |
| Basketball | |
| 1911–1914 | Wisconsin |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1916 | Texas |
| 1919 | Texas (assistant) |
| 1920 | University Farm |
| 1921 | Stanford |
| Basketball | |
| 1914–1916 | Missouri |
| 1916–1917 | Texas |
| 1921–1922 | Stanford |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 14–8–3 (football) 42–19 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football SWC (1916) | |
| Awards | |
| Basketball All-American (1914) | |
Coaching career
During his two seasons as basketball head coach at Missouri (1914–16), Van Gent led to the Tigers to a 21–9 overall record. Texas hired Van Gent as both football and basketball head coach in 1916. He coached for one season in each sport before joining the military to fight in the First World War. In the 1916 college football season, Van Gent directed Texas to a 7–2 overall record in football and a 6–1 record in Southwest Conference play. As men's basketball head coach for the 1916–17 season, he directed the Longhorns to a 13–3 overall record (7–1 in conference play) and their third consecutive Southwest Conference championship. In 1921, Van Gent coached the Stanford Cardinal football team, compiling a 4–2–2 record. Van Gent also coached Stanford's basketball team in 1921–22. He fell ill with encephalitis lethargica in December 1922 and was hospitalized in San Francisco.[1]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1916) | |||||||||
| 1916 | Texas | 7–2 | 6–1 | 1st | |||||
| Texas: | 7–2 | 6–1 | |||||||
| University Farm (Independent) (1920) | |||||||||
| 1920 | University Farm | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| University Farm: | 3–4–1 | ||||||||
| Stanford (Pacific Coast Conference) (1921) | |||||||||
| 1921 | Stanford | 4–2–2 | 1–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
| Stanford: | 4–2–2 | 1–1–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 14–8–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Basketball
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri (Missouri Valley) (1914–1916) | |||||||||
| 1914–15 | Missouri | 8–6 | 6–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 1915–16 | Missouri | 12–3 | 9–2 | 2nd | |||||
| Missouri: | 21–9 (.700) | 15–8 (.652) | |||||||
| Texas (Southwest Conference) (1917) | |||||||||
| 1916–17 | Texas | 13–3 | 7–1 | 1st | |||||
| Texas: | 13–3 (.813) | 7–1 (.875) | |||||||
| Stanford (PCC) (1921–1922) | |||||||||
| 1921–22 | Stanford | 8–7 | 4–6 | 5 | |||||
| Van Gent: | 8–7 (.533) | 4–6 (.400) | |||||||
| Total: | 42–19 (.689) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
- "Gene Van Gent Stricken. Former Stanford Football Coach Has Sleeping Sickness" (PDF). The New York Times. December 24, 1922. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
