American basketball player and coach
Harold G. Olsen (May 12, 1895 – October 29, 1953) was a college men's basketball coach. The Rice Lake, Wisconsin native was the head coach of the Ohio State University from 1922 to 1946. That year, he became the first head coach of the BAA's Chicago Stags, where he coached almost three seasons before being replaced by Philip Brownstein. Olsen also coached at Northwestern University (1950–1952).
While playing at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1914–1917), Olsen was named to the All-Big Ten twice for basketball. After graduating from Wisconsin, he began his coaching career at Bradley University and Ripon College. In 1922, Olsen followed George Trautman as head coach of the Ohio State University. In 24 years he guided the Buckeyes to a 259–197 record, as well as five Big Ten championships (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946). He served as a chair on the NCAA Basketball Committee. Olsen helped initiate the 10-second rule in 1937, which requires teams to advance the ball over the center line within 10 seconds of gaining possession. In 1939, Olsen spearheaded efforts to create the NCAA postseason national playoffs, now known as the NCAA tournament, one that could compete with the National Invitational Tournament, which started play in 1938 with games hosted at Madison Square Garden in New York. The first NCAA tournament in 1939 saw Northwestern University host eight teams. Oregon beat Ohio State to become the first tournament champion in a format that has expanded several times to go with its popularity as the premier tournament for college basketball.
In 1959, he was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.
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