Beloit College

An outstanding Janesville High School and LaCrosse State Teachers College athlete who first became a prep coach, Lyle Hope joined the Beloit staff following World War II naval service and developed highly successful programs in swimming and golf.  His Buccaneer swimming teams won 44 dual meets and lost only 10, all to university squads, in seven years; in five seasons of Midwest Conference competition, they captured three league championships and finished second twice.  Holding all Beloit pool records, they were undefeated in 18 consecutive meets over a three-year period.  Hope directed the mermen to two Midwest Invitational Meet titles and to the 1953 Central Collegiate Conference championship, and he was instrumental in developing all-America swimmer Chet Otis, also a Hall of Honor member.  Hope’s golf teams excelled too; the 1952 squad compiled a school-record 10-1 mark, ad the 1953 team finished at 8-3.  Hope also served as freshman football coach, head of the physical education program, director of intramurals, and member of the faculty, athletic and scholarship committees.  He left coaching in 1953 to accept an industrial sales promotion position with the Besly-Welles Corp; now a manufacturer’s representative, he is president of Hope Enterprises in Elmhurst, Illinois.