PROFILE: Don Benning

Don R. Benning: Pioneer African American university coach and innovative educator

Individuality and high achievement are among American ideals that educators strive to develop. And pursuing those goals for nearly 50 years while maintaining integrity and decency is not easy in any endeavor. But accomplishing them while performing national and state "firsts" despite ethnic prejudice, discrimination, and societal changes in the latter half of the 20th century is very rare indeed.

Such was the example set by Don R. Benning, an African American from Omaha who in 1963 became the first black head coach in wrestling at a predominantly white university, the first black head coach at a white university with significant longevity (1963-1971) in any major sport, and the first black head coach at a white university to earn a national championship (1970) in any major sport.

Afterwards, while an assistant superintendent of a large urban public school system, he developed several innovative programs, one of them the nationally recognized Adopt-A-School Business Partnership. And then as professor of education, he served as coordinator of urban education and senior lecturer in educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

His character was formed during his early years with his family near Fourteenth and Fort Streets in Omaha, a low-income white neighborhood at the time. Both parents had attended elementary school, with his mother subsequently devoted to raising five children and his father employed as a Union Pacific pullman porter until retirement. The family attended St. John A.M.E. Church, and emphasized work ethic and pride. While Benning was subjected to racial prejudice, his father urged him not to tolerate slurs and instead stand up for his rights, which years later he reported had resulted in an average of one fight a day during childhood.

Meanwhile, he had success in the classroom at Sherman Elementary, despite encountering a stereotypical bias of one teacher who advised him to accept his lot in life, he revealed in a Summer 1995 UNO Alum profile. He also participated on three city championship teams in as many sports--football, soccer and baseball, according to a lengthy feature in the February 23, 1969 Omaha Sunday World Herald Magazine of the Midlands, and worked at Kellom Community Center.

While at Omaha North High School, where he graduated in 1954, he participated in wrestling, and was state runner-up in his junior and senior years, and also lettered in football and baseball. In short, he was a talented athlete known on the state level.

The decade of the 1950s found black athletes more welcome than previously on college sports teams in Nebraska and elsewhere. During the first semester of his freshman year at Dana College in Blair, he was elected as class officer, and was on the football team that included Marion Hudson, one of Nebraska's legendary African American athletes.

In February 1955, Benning transferred to Omaha University, played football until injuries intervened, and excelled his senior year in wrestling, the first year that OU offered the sport. Upon receiving his bachelor's degree in history and physical education in 1958, he was on active duty with the Marine Corps Reserve for six months, and another 5 1/2 years in active reserves.

When Benning discovered the Omaha Public Schools was not at the time hiring blacks on the secondary level, he obtained a teaching contract with the Chicago Public Schools, stated an article in the October 29, 1987 Omaha Star. Before departing, he visited with friends at Omaha University, and encountered its President Milo Bail, who encouraged him to accept a graduate fellowship.

While serving as assistant football and wrestling coach, he earned his master's degree in education with a minor in counseling in 1961. Bail had also promised him a full-time position at the University as soon as one became available, so while waiting, Benning was acting executive director of the North Branch YMCA for two years.

In the fall of 1963, he became a full-time faculty member (the first black) at Omaha University (which became the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1968), serving as head wrestling coach, a scout and assistant coach on the football team, instructor of physical education, instructor in the department of education teaching an introduction to education, and counselor for athletics, the latter an innovation on the university level. Soon, Benning endured an unexpected adversity with the loss of both his parents to illnesses.

That first year, his wrestling team had a record of 5 wins and 6 losses, the only losing season of his eight-year coaching career. He was, however, recognized in a three-page feature titled "Coach Cracks Color Barrier" in the March 1964 Ebony. (The magazine later presented him with its Pioneer in Education Award in 1969.)

Unknown to scholars and journalists elsewhere, the first black head coach in football at a predominantly white college was Matthew Washington Bullock of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was head coach in 1904, 1907, and 1908 before serving as head coach at what is now Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, a black college. Bullock's achievement was reported in Jack W. Berryman, "Early Black Leadership in Collegiate Football: Massachusetts as a Pioneer," Education in Massachusetts: Selected Essays, eds Michael F. Konig and Martin Kaufman (Westfield State College, Institute for Massachusetts Studies, 1989).

But Arthur Ashe Jr., author of A Hard Road To Glory: A History of the African American Athlete Since 1946, Vol 3 (Amistad Press, 1988, 1993), reported in the section titled "Black Wrestlers at White Colleges" that "Don Benning was the first black head coach at a predominantly white college, Omaha University, in 1964."

Thus Benning had earned a place in our nation's sports history by becoming the first black head wrestling coach at a predominantly white university, and it can be claimed that he was the first black head coach at a white university to achieve significant longevity in any major sport.

In the early 1960s, aside from the task of developing the UNO wrestling program and assisting in football, Benning had to deal with society's long-term racial stereotypes and the barriers that minorities face. There was also a social revolution as well as passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by the U.S. Congress that added even more challenges.

In the Summer 1995 UNO Alum article, he recalled it was a time when "authority was being threatened, where race riots were a reality, where we, as blacks, were rebelling against laws on the books that were discriminatory in nature. It was a time when the business community in North Omaha had almost been burned to the ground, black power was prevalent and the hippie movement was at its zenith."

Through it all, Benning had to not only win in wrestling but also demonstrate that he was part of the black community and that he recognized his responsibilities of having an obligation to be supportive. There were also other issues that affected coaching, such as the involvement of the United States in Vietnam, separatist movements, and marches on City Hall to demand fair employment practices. Moreover, as he noted, "all these young people were caught up in the process of deciding whether they wanted to participate in the system...and coaches--especially a black coach--had to make decisions as they related to their obligation to the movement for freedom and equity for all."

Decades later, in a December 30, 2004 Omaha Weekly Reader profile, he revealed his basic principle for coping with all obstacles and challenges: 'But the absolute key is recognizing that and saying 'I'm not going to allow that to deter me from reaching my goals.' That was already a motivating factor for me from the day I got the job. I knew good enough wasn't good enough--that I had to be better."

And he maintained his fundamental values. Upon his induction into the UNO Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982, he was quoted in the November 12, 1982 Omaha World Herald as saying, "I've never had a singular interest in just athletics. I've always been interested in athletes first as individuals. Maybe that's why I was successful in recruiting, even without scholarships," except his last two years.

Despite limited resources and minimal facilities for wrestling, he developed a winning team his second year at Omaha University (renamed UNO in 1968), which belonged to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. (Since 1973, UNO has belonged to NCAA Division II.)

For recruiting, he attended high school tournaments, looking "for the kid who really hates to lose. You measure him by speed, strength and agility... in college, you have to be superior on your feet, a superior pinner, and you have to be superior in getting escapes."

As part of a championship formula, he urged them to be in better shape mentally and physically than the other teams. He stressed running, rope climbing, and exercise, which included a short period of calisthenics that involved 150 jumping jacks, 60 pushups, 65 situps, and other drills.

Of course, his wrestlers represented diverse religions and ethnicity, and he urged them to get an education and graduate. But while competing elsewhere, various forms of prejudice were directed at Benning and his black athletes. Often his competitors, including Division I universities such as Arizona, Iowa, and Minnesota, initially assumed he was a student or manager, not a coach. And black wrestler Mel Washington was hung in effigy at a North Carolina school.

But team members developed a collective spirit to make diversity succeed despite hostile incidents. Of coach Benning, wrestler Bernie Hospodka, an NAIA champion at 190 pounds, noted, "He was always controlled, always dignified, always right, but he always got his point across," reported an article in the February 2003 Omaha New Horizons. And African American brothers Me1 and Roy Washington, five-time individual champions, stated, "He was a disciplinarian who made champions not only on the mat but out there in the public eye, too. He was more than a coach, he was a role model, a brother, a father figure.''

During Benning's eight years at UNO, attendance at home wrestling matches rose from only 200 in the beginning to an average of 1,700 later, with some crowds exceeding 3,000, and often more than attendance at football games.

Fan support was linked to the exceptional performances of Benning's teams. From 1963 to 1971, his dual meet record for eight seasons was 87 wins, 24 losses, and 4 ties. His last five seasons were especially impressive, with a record of 65-6-4 and teams that were runners-up to the NAIA national champions in 1968 and 1969, and third in 1971. Additionally, several of his wrestlers were individual national champions.

In March 1970, his UNO team won the NAIA national wrestling championship, the first for a black head coach at a predominantly white university in any sport. That same year his team even defeated NCAA Division I powerhouse Iowa University at its own invitational, and was recognized by Amateur Wrestling News as one of the three top teams in the nation, regardless of division.

In the previous year of 1969, he was honored as NAIA wrestling coach of the year, and became the first African American coach to become a member of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Committee. Throughout the latter years of his career, he received offers from several prestigious Division I universities both in wrestling and football, but for various reasons decided to stay at UNO at that point. In 1971, he received his doctorate in secondary education and curriculum (with certification in administration) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the first black to do so at UNL in the field of education.

Benning also decided at the young age of 34 to leave the demanding job of coaching and counseling athletes for two reasons: family and service. He thought he could impact more people through public school education in bringing about changes necessary in society, and chose to become a public school administrator in Omaha, his hometown.

His 26-year career with the Omaha Public Schools began in the fall of 1971 as assistant principal at Central High School, where he had the responsibility for discipline, some teacher evaluation, and supervision of all extra-curricular activities. After three years, he noted in a December 12, 1974 Omaha Sun article that "there has to be a total commitment to encouraging multiracial schools and improving teacher training," and asserted that prejudices and stereotypes can be changed through communication and respect. He also urged "an account of minorities in American history and the growth of the nation should be incorporated into the regular curriculum at the earliest grades."

That same year, he had been the first recipient of the Nebraska High School Athletic Director of the Year Award for exemplary administration in high school athletics. With his previous coaching experience, he understood much can be learned about life from athletic participation, but also believed "there is a danger involved--especially for the black athlete. That danger is in using the black super-athlete as a model and then to forsake development in his other skills."

In 1975, Benning became director of the Department of Human-Community Relations Services for his District that two decades later was comprised of 80 schools, 44,000 students, and 3,000 teachers. Along with other staff members, he helped install a desegregation plan via court-ordered busing, and later in 1984 chaired a committee to evaluate whether OPS met court-ordered requirements along with re-organization of schools.

Additionally, as he reported in a November 11, 1978 Omaha World Herald interview, an information center had been set up for parents and others to control rumors, workshops established for students to learn alternatives to physical confrontations and for teachers on human awareness and minority culture, student advisory committees organized to help reduce racial tension, and a Good News Committee of student leaders created to disseminate positive reports about accomplishments of students who usually receive little recognition.

Aside from being director of human-community relations, he assumed added responsibilities in 1979 as an assistant superintendent in which he oversaw crisis intervention and staff development, and initiated several innovative programs. By working to bring about change from within, he believed attitudes could be changed "by showing how excellence could be achieved through diversity."

One of the first was designed to help students blend athletics and education for a successful life. It involved the invitation of some 40 male and female athletes from Omaha and Lincoln campuses of the University of Nebraska to visit fifth and sixth-grade classes to provide testimony on the importance of school in their everyday lives.

Another series of efforts to encourage more racial equality involved a Pacesetter Academy, an after-school program for at-risk students, and a Minority Intern Program to increase more minority teachers in partnership with UNO. In the mid-1980s, he directed a school and community task force that recommended a three-year plan on student desegregation, school consolidation, and magnet schools.

A community involvement to advance racial equality was his co-leadership in a political education workshop "to acquaint blacks with the theory and actuality of politics on local, state and national levels," reported the December 21, 1980 Sunday World Herald. Serving as resource persons were various public and private sector leaders. Other important efforts included a tutoring program in the projects with the Omaha Housing Authority and the encouragement of family life with the Omaha Council PTA/PTSA.

His innovative Adopt-A-School Program begun in 1983 was among the first in the nation. It enabled both the schools and participating businesses to benefit, with the District serving as an intermediary. Typically, a business helped an elementary or secondary school in Omaha with management advice, provided grants, and offered resources in vocational and computer education. In return, they had helped students gain more education for use off campus and by serving the community. For its success, Benning and his colleagues received in 1985 the Exemplary Programming Award from U.S. President Ronald Reagan's Council on Private Sector Initiatives.

He also headed the OPS District's Youth Violence Task Force, comprised of more than 35 persons representing a broad segment of the community--parents, students, educators, and the Omaha Police Department. According to an article in the August 11, 1988 Omaha Star, its purpose was "to examine the extent to which youth violence is a problem in the schools, and to recommend what should be done." One of its missions was to study the issue by grade levels and to survey areas of the community to determine local perception of the problem.

National recognition for the efforts of the schools and community in education came from the Administration of U.S. President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s. Omaha was one of only two cities nationwide selected, reported the August 29, 1991 Omaha World Herald, primarily "because of its strong public and private education systems and cooperation here among education, business and government officials to enhance education."

In 1997, after the OPS Board of Education decided upon a new superintendent, and plans for a re-organization were announced, Benning decided to retire after learning he was not a finalist for the superintendency and that the District's assistant superintendents would have to re-apply for the job.

"I could have continued as assistant superintendent, but I chose not to because who I am and what I am is not negotiable," he reported in the December 30, 2004 Omaha Weekly Reader article. He believed that with over 90 percent of the poor as well as minorities in Omaha located east of 72nd Street, their education was hindered; therefore, busing was still necessary. "I compromised on a lot of things, but not on those issues...The thing I've tried not to do and I don't think I have, is negotiate away my integrity, my beliefs, my values."

He also stated, "This still isn't a color-blind society. I don't say that bitterly--that's just a fact of life. But until we resolve the race issue, it will not allow us to be the best we can be as individuals and as a country." The same year he left the Omaha Public Schools, he became a member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty as an associate professor of educational administration, where he has served for more than a decade as a coordinator of urban education and senior lecturer at the College of Education and Human Sciences.

In addition to the national honors already mentioned, Benning was also recipient of several others, including induction into the Omaha North High School Hall of Fame in 1986, the Professional Development Award from the National Academy for School Executives of the American Association of School Administrators in 1988, the Familyness Award from the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education in 1989, the Prevention in Education Award from PRIDE Inc. in 1993, the UNO Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994, the African American Award from the Omaha Durham Western Heritage Museum in 1999, induction into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, the Black Pioneer Award from the City of Omaha in 2001, and the UNL Alumni Education Achievement Award in 2007.

Much biography is offered about Benning in the newspaper articles and other publications previously cited. A chapter about him is scheduled for inclusion in John C. Walter, Better Than The Best: Black Athletes Speak, 1920-2000 (University of Washington Press, forthcoming).

Born in 1936 in Omaha, one of five children of Erdie and Mary Williams Benning, he attended local schools, as stated previously, and graduated from Omaha North High School in 1954. Don was married in 1961 to Marcidene Williams (no relation to his mother), and they have raised five children.

For more information, consult "900 Famous Nebraskans" on the Internet at www.nsea.org or www.gagecountymuseum.org or www.nebpress.com.

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PROFILE: Don Benning

Don R. Benning: Pioneer African American university coach and innovative educator