University of Minnesota Athletics
Newt Loken - M Club Hall of Fame
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Newt Loken
Men’s Gymnastics, 1940-42
HOF Class of 1992
Newt Loken was one of the early stars of the Gopher gymnastics program.
The Minneapolis West High School grad and Gophers team captain under coach Ralph Piper won the Big Ten Horizontal Bar competition in 1941 and claimed the Big Ten All-Around Championship that year.
He became Minnesota's first-ever NCAA Gymnastics All-Around champion in 1942, and repeated as Big Ten All-Around Champion the following season.
Loken also competed on the diving team for the Gophers, and was an All-American cheerleader and captain of the Minnesota cheer squad.
After serving in WWII, Loken became Michigan’s head men's gymnastics coach, guiding the Wolverines from 1947 to 1983 and posting an overall record of 250-72-1. He led the program to two NCAA titles, 12 Big Ten championships, 21 NCAA individual titles and 71 individual Big Ten titles.
Loken also coached cheerleading and trampolining at Michigan. His team won a pair of national trampoline titles and he produced more trampoline champions and world medal winners than any other collegiate coach.
The two-time National Coach of the Year was inducted into the Michigan Hall of Honor, the Michigan Amateur Sports Hall of Fame, and the US Savings-Helms Hall of Fame.