Former UND football coach and Potato Bowl founder Jerry Olson has died at 89

GRAND FORKS — Former UND soccer coach Jerry Olson, one of many founders of the college’s Potato Bowl custom, died Saturday morning at 89.

Throughout Olson’s time at UND, the Preventing Sioux received North Central Convention Championships in 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1975.

On the finish of the 1971 season, Olson was named the District Coach of the Yr and earned the title of the North Dakota Faculty Coach of the Yr in 1972. For his contributions to this system, Olson was inducted into the UND Athletic Corridor of Fame within the fall of 1981.

Olson, a Hoople, N.D., native, was the primary North Dakota native to be head coach of the soccer program. He spent 10 years as head coach, compiling a 54-39-4 report.

“He was actually severe, old style,” mentioned former UND soccer participant Dale Lian, who performed from 1975-78 and was Sioux teammates with Jerry’s son, Steve. “It was the Bear Bryant sort. Onerous work, self-discipline. He had a light-weight aspect, too. He was a extremely good man.”

With Olson in cost, UND had a key second within the in-state rivalry in opposition to North Dakota State.

In 1971, Olson’s Sioux snapped NDSU’s 35-game profitable streak with a 23-7 win in Fargo.

The Bison had been coming off a 1970 Camellia Bowl dominant win over Montana.

UND held the Bison to minus-76 dashing yards and minus-11 yards in complete offense.

The 1971 group beat Montana State (17-15) and tied Nevada-Las Vegas (17-17).

UND’s punishing protection was led by linebacker Jim LeClair, who went on to a prolonged NFL profession, and defensive again Dan Martinsen. Each gamers had been AP All-People.

“He was very strict and authoritative,” mentioned former UND defensive lineman Charlie Bridgeford, who performed for the Sioux from 1971-74. “Everybody was just a little intimidated by him. As soon as you bought to know him after you are accomplished enjoying soccer, he was an awesome man.”

In 1972, Olson’s Sioux group went 10-1 and beat Cal Poly 38-21 within the Camellia Bowl in Sacramento.

UND ran for 266 yards on 70 makes an attempt, led by Mike Deutsch’s 119 yards on 41 carries.

Present UND soccer coach Bubba Schweigert remembers being a seventh-grader at Memorial Stadium in 1975 and watching Olson lead the Sioux out to play Morningside, a 49-7 UND win.

“It was a extremely spectacular win, and it was actually hard-nosed, robust soccer,” Schweigert mentioned. “For a child from Zeeland, Memorial was just like the LA Coliseum.”

Olson’s final season main UND was 1977, when he retired at an early age of 42 from teaching soccer. Lian mentioned Olson timed his retirement excellent to set the stage for UND to call assistant and buddy Gene Murphy as the subsequent head coach.

“He did not retire proper after my junior season (1977), however he waited to the day earlier than spring soccer in order that the athletic director would not have a selection however to call Murphy,” Lian mentioned. “It labored.”

Olson, who farmed close to Hoople, N.D., earlier than and after his soccer teaching profession, left one other legacy on UND soccer as he is thought-about a founding father of the Potato Bowl.

The Potato Bowl USA was created in 1965 by then UND Athletic Director Len Marti, head coach Marv Helling, assistant coach Jerry Olson and sports activities data director Lee Bohnet. The primary Potato Bowl USA was performed in 1966, when North Dakota shut out Idaho State 41-0 in a battle for satisfaction amongst potato rising areas. Potato Bowl USA nonetheless exists in the present day, and North Dakota is 44-12 in Potato Bowl USA historical past, most lately defeating then-ranked No. 24 Northern Iowa, 29-27, contained in the Alerus Middle on Sept. 10, 2022.

Olson, who was born on a Walsh County farm in 1933, attended faculty at Valley Metropolis State, the place he lettered in soccer, basketball and baseball.

Jerry and his spouse Nadine, who’ve a soccer scholarship endowment at UND, had 4 kids.