University of Minnesota Athletics
Ozzie Cowles - M Club Hall of Fame
Ozzie Cowles
Men’s Basketball Coach, 1948-59
HOF Class 1997
Osborne “Ozzie” Cowles, a Browns Valley, MN native, starred at Carleton College, where he earned 1l letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was three times an all-conference guard came back to Carlton two years after his 1922 graduation to coach its basketball and baseball programs.
In 1930, Cowles moved on to River Falls State Teachers College and then Dartmouth, which he led to seven Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (now the Ivy League) basketball championships and a trip to the NCAA Tournament finals against Stanford.
Cowles became head coach of the University of Michigan in 1946, where he posted a 28-14 record and won the 1948 Big Ten championship. That spring, Cowles became head coach of the Golden Gophers. In 11 years he would guide them to 10 Big Ten runner-up seasons and a 148-93 record.
The Minnesota basketball program Cowles developed emphasized both athletic achievement and the value of a college education. Nearly all of his players graduated and many pursued advanced degrees. He was inducted into the College Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.