Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame
Robert H. Odell
- Induction:
- 1988
Sport: Football Coach
As head football coach from 1958-64, Bob Odell had a 37-26 record at Bucknell and led the 1960 and 1964 teams to Lambert Cup championships. After two losing seasons in 1958-59, his Bison teams went 32-13 over the next five seasons. A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Odell was an All-America halfback at Pennsylvania, won the Maxwell Trophy and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1943, and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Following service as a communications officer in the U.S. Navy in World War II, he was an assistant coach at Yale, Temple and Wisconsin before coming to Bucknell. While at Wisconsin, he recruited and coached the great Alan Ameche, the 1954 Heisman Trophy winner. After leaving Bucknell, Odell was head coach at Penn (1965-70) and Williams (1971-86). In 1987 he was honored by the New England Football Writers Association with the George C. Carens Award for outstanding contributions to New England football. A second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1944, the position of Bucknell head football coach is now named in his honor.Â
(Bucknell Hall of Fame Class of 1987)
As head football coach from 1958-64, Bob Odell had a 37-26 record at Bucknell and led the 1960 and 1964 teams to Lambert Cup championships. After two losing seasons in 1958-59, his Bison teams went 32-13 over the next five seasons. A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Odell was an All-America halfback at Pennsylvania, won the Maxwell Trophy and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1943, and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Following service as a communications officer in the U.S. Navy in World War II, he was an assistant coach at Yale, Temple and Wisconsin before coming to Bucknell. While at Wisconsin, he recruited and coached the great Alan Ameche, the 1954 Heisman Trophy winner. After leaving Bucknell, Odell was head coach at Penn (1965-70) and Williams (1971-86). In 1987 he was honored by the New England Football Writers Association with the George C. Carens Award for outstanding contributions to New England football. A second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1944, the position of Bucknell head football coach is now named in his honor.Â
(Bucknell Hall of Fame Class of 1987)
In The Herd - 2026 Bucknell Reunion Weekend
Saturday, May 30
NCAA East First Round Preview And Wade Shomper, Alex Lea, Evie Bliss And Brylee Tereska Features
Monday, May 25
NCAA East First Round Preview 5-25-2026
Monday, May 25
Patriot League Baseball Championship Series Game Three Recap 5-20-2026
Wednesday, May 20
