July Alumnus of the Month: Harvey Schiller

This month, UMRFC honors Harvey Schiller. Harvey, a former President of the club, currently is working with America’s Cup, but has spent time in various corners of the sports world, both collegiate and professional. A
retired serviceman, Harvey was one of the men who played in the Big House Game in 1969. Here’s what he
had to say:

When did you play?
Played twice. In the years 1960 to 1962 while earning masters and 1968 to 1970 earning PHD.

What is your favorite memory or memories as a member of the club?
Great friends and terrific memories. We played a game at Michigan Stadium following the Ohio State game in 69 I believe. 101,000 watched at beginning but as crowd left maybe 100 were left at end!

Did you have any special honors during your time with the club? (ie captain, chair positions, midwest finals etc)
Served as president in 69 and 70.

What are you doing now?
Been involved in sports for some time (Commissioner of SEC; executive director USOC; Yankees, etc) Now Commissioner of America’s Cup 35.

Any other interesting stories or info that you can provide?
We had a side travel to England for matches. We played a game against a Canadian side as part of centennial celebration in Rochester, Michigan. My in-laws owned the local newspaper and we ran on the front page for two weeks. But the best story (and will take too long here) was when the team protested the paving of Wines Field where we played following home football games. We wound up with the first lighted field for both the varsity football team and rugby! We also started the first real club sports organization. At the time, there was no varsity soccer, lacrosse, and more. Certainly no women’s sports. Don Canham was the AD and a good friend. I was still in the Air Force, a Viet vet, and that probably helped.

1 comment

    • Evan Pratt on September 6, 2016 at 9:52 pm
    • Reply

    Great story! -Elmo

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