Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
A native of Bayard, Conn earned four letters in both football and basketball at Chadron State before graduating in 1933. Not much is known about his exploits as an athlete, but he certainly was a successful teacher, coach and administrator. He is best known for coaching the Chadron State Campus Laboratory School (generally referred to as Chadron Prep) basketball teams from 1947, until the high school portion closed in 1961. His teams compiled a 253-64 record, won 10 conference championships, nine district titles and three Class C state championships.
All of the state championship teams, in 1950, 1952 and 1955, were undefeated. Conn and all three teams were inducted into the Nebraska High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He also coached the Prep football teams six years, compiling a 28-8-2 record. Both the 1948 and ’49 teams were undefeated. After the entire Campus Laboratory School closed in 1964, Conn joined the education faculty at the University of South Dakota-Springfield. He received Chadron State’s Distinguished Service Award in 1976. He died in October 1984 at age 78.
