Bob Carlson inducted into Utah State "Hall of Fame"
favicon.ico
(Logan, Utah): Former Clarion University Athletic Director Robert "Bob" Carlson was inducted into the Utah State University 2009 "Athletics Hall of Fame" on Friday, February 6th at the Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom on the USU campus.

Carlson, also a native of nearby DuBois, Pa., was one of 7 inductees in the 2009 Class.

"This is a great honor for Utah State to recognize me for the 21 years I spent in Logan, Utah as a student athlete, coach and administrator," said Carlson. "I had plenty of help during my career from the assistant coaches and all the student athletes who worked with us during that time frame.

It was also great to go back and see many of our friends and tell stories of days gone by. We had a great run and my family and I are very grateful for this honor. I have been very lucky to work at two very fine institutions during my career in athletics at USU and Clarion."

Carlson attended Utah State and earned his B.A. Degree in 1970 and a Masters in 1972. A wrestler at Utah State, he was an NCAA Qualifier in 1968 and was named the team's head wrestling coach prior to his senior season. He spent 19 years as the head wrestling coach (1969-87), never had a losing season, sported a 224-75-1 dual meet record and led the program to 9 top 20 finishes. He had 41 athletes qualify for the NCAA Div. I Championships and 23 win Pacific Coast Athletic Association Titles. Bob also spent 12 years as an assistant athletic director at USU for fund raising.

Bob left Utah State in 1987 and became Clarion University's Associate A.D. on July 6, 1987. Named acting A.D. at Clarion on October 15, 1990, he was named Clarion's A.D. on January 1, 1991. Carlson was Clarion's Athletic Director for 15 years, though the 2004-2005 season. He retired from Clarion in 2006 and had many accomplishments during his tenure.

The yearly athletic scholarship budget rose from 267,000 in 1990 to 518,000 at the time of his retirement. Those increases were due to the many projects he started or improved upon such as the Clarion University Golf Classic, Special Projects, Summer Sports Camps, PIAA Playoffs and more.

Bob also started the Academic Honors Luncheon, which honors student athletes with a 3.2 QPA or higher at Clarion. That luncheon was re-named in his honor and is now know as the "Bob Carlson Scholar Athlete Luncheon".

CLARION NOTES: Bob is the son of Helen Carlson and the late Robert "Bob" Carlson of DuBois... Bob and his wife Sue currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.... They have a son Robert and a daughter Dana... Also inducted into the USU Hall of Fame were Gregory L Gant (men's basketball), David S. Kragthorpe (football/baseball), Thomas F. Larscheid (football), John M. Pappas (football), Alisa L. Nicodemus Rodgers (track) and Ralph M. Roylance (football.track)... The inductees were honored over the weekend... The induction ceremonies were on Friday, Feb. 6th... Also on Saturday at the Utah State Basketball Game, the inductees were introduced to a capacity crowd... Other activities were also part of the weekend.