Memorial Coliseum was completed in 1950. Seating 11,500 persons for cage contests, the four-million dollar Coliseum also houses the Athletic Department and provided the frist permanent home for the school's many minor sports teams. More recently, Shively directed the acquisition of a pair of modern, ranch-style living units which have served as the home of the football team since 1954.
A large dressing room building and football practice field, used since 1955, was abandoned in 1959 to make way for a huge new men's dorm. Under Shively's supervision, a spacious new Sports Center has been prepared a short distance away on the University farm to take even better care of the footballers and spring sports teams.
All-America Guard At Illinois
A native of Paris, III., Shively attended the University of Illinois where he was an All-America guard in 1926 on the same grid team made famous by Red Grange. Demonstrating a claim to being one of the finest all-around athletes in Illinois' history, "Shive" also laid claim to the Big 10 heavyweight wrestling championship and annexed letters in track before graduating in 1927.
Shively came to Kentucky in 1927 as line coach of football under Harry Gamage. A shift in the coaching ranks in 1933 resulted in Shively's promotion to head of the UK Physical Education Department, a position he retained until he succeeded Chet Wynne as Athletic Director in 1938. During this period and the years following, he also served as track and baseball coach for several seasons and continued as a football assistant until 1944. The next year, 1945, he assumed full charge of the grid squad for one season before turning the job over to mentor Paul (Bear) Bryant in 1946.
The Kentucky Athletic Director served as chairman of the Southeastern Conference basketball committee for a number of years and for the past seven years has been president of the SEC Coaches and Athletic Directors Association. He is current chairman of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Committee, chairman of the NCAA Summer Baseball group and is active in numerous state and civic projects, including current direction of the Fayette County Recreation Board. Thousands of his friends honored his 30th anniversary at Kentucky by presenting him with a Cadillac at the Tennessee football game in 1957.
Shively and his wife, Ruth, have two children. Doug was co-captain of the Wildcat grid team in 1958 and now is coaching at VPI while daughter Suzanne was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UK in 1 957.
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