NIRSA FOUNDER - DR. WILLIAM WASSON

Even if you have read NIRSA s History section on our website or seen the photos in the lobby of the NIRSA National Center, you may not know of William Wasson's varied interests and of his journey that led to what we now know as “Founder's Day - February 22, 1950.”

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, William Wasson grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, graduated from Central High School, and then attended Louisville Municipal College where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1937. While in college, he played football, basketball, and ran track. When he graduated with a master's in Biology from Atlanta University, he taught and served as a principal for the next two years in Homerville, Georgia.

It was at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) where Wasson developed his lifelong interest in intramural sports.

In the early 1920s, there was a rise in popularity of intramural sports at the University of Michigan, as well as on other campuses across the country. In 1919, Dr. Elmer Mitchell became Director of Intramurals; UM was the first college to use this title. Mitchell published Intramural Sports, the first book on this subject and he became the recognized leader in the field. Years later, he would be known as “The Father of Intramurals.” But it was in 1946, while pursuing a master's in Physical Education, that William Wasson took a class from Dr. Mitchell. That one event was the keystone for what would follow, also proving that mentoring a student is one of the most important parts of teaching.

When he graduated with his master's, Wasson moved to Dillard University in New Orleans, LA, to teach biology, but he continued his interest in sports. He was an assistant coach for both football and basketball, was the head track coach, and he developed an intramural program for Dillard students. As his interest in this activity grew, he sought and received a grant from the Carnegie Foundation in 1948 to tour black colleges throughout the country to study their student intramural programs.

Once he had collected the data and written A Comparative Study of Intramural Programs in Negro Colleges, he sent the document to all of the participating colleges that he had visited. It was also during this time, that he'd gotten the idea of having a national organization that would serve as a reference, a resource, and meeting of the minds of men and women interested developing intramural programs. This ultimately led to the meeting of 22 male and female intramural directors from 11 Historically Black Colleges that was held at Dillard University on February 22, 1950, and the rest…as the old cliché goes…is history. It was at this meeting that the National Intramural Association (NIA) …later known as NIRSA…was created and Dr. Wasson has since been known as “The Founder of the Association.”

That same year, Wasson returned to the University of Michigan to pursue a doctorate. While there, he received a teaching fellowship in the campus intramurals program. When he earned his doctorate in 1954, he moved to Grambling College (Louisiana) to teach biology. Three years later, he moved to Wayne State University where he taught kinesiology, anatomy, physiology and the physiology of exercise until he retired as Professor Emeritus in 1980.

Through the years, Wasson served on 100 doctoral committees; he was a visiting professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and at Windsor, Canada from 1961-1963. In 1961, he was the published author of Physiology of Exercise, and in 1962, he published a laboratory manual Anatomy and Kinesiology.

When Dr. Wasson passed away in 1991 in Sun City West, Arizona, where he had gone to live when he retired, he left a rich legacy of service and involvement. He served as President of the NIA for the first five years, received the NIRSA Honor Award in 1969, and published numerous articles on intramural and recreational sports. He served as a consultant for the establishment of a National Intramural Association of Canada.

He was Director of the National Undergraduate Leadership Conference for Kappa Alpha PSI Fraternity. He also served as Cochair of the Motor City International Indoor Track Meet and was a member of Phi Epsilon Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa and Beta Kappa Chi Honor Societies. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Camp Fire Girls, Associate Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the President of the Detroit Varsity Club.

Dr. Wasson was once asked how he would like NIRSA to remember him. He humbly responded, “As the person who accidentally happened to have been there because, certainly not in the back of my mind, did I think we would get organized and become a national, or rather an international, organization.”