Inductee Details

Richard "Dick" Maack

Graduation Year: 1959
Induction Class of 2021
Sports: Track & Field; Football
Richard

Dick was a four-year letterman on the Braves track and field team, and also earned two letters in football. OU won the KCAC team championship each of Dick’s four years on the track and field team. He anchored the 440, 880 and mile relay teams, and during his sophomore year was part of the Braves team that won the Invitational Sprint Medley at the KU Relays and set a new meet record with a time of 3:32.6. Individually, as a sprinter, Dick charted 18 wins in the 100 and 15 in the 220 in his four seasons, and in two seasons finished with the team’s highest individual point total. His career best 100 time was 9.7 and in the 220 he had a personal career best of 21.5. Dick was named to the All-KCAC track and field team in both the 100 and 220 all four years, and in his senior year finished undefeated in both the 100 and 220 and was the KCAC champion. He achieved all these milestones, as he pointed out, “on the old cinder tracks of the era.” On the football field, as a sophomore and junior, Dick played running back and cornerback, and as he put it “I started some games, but was mostly a sub.” His biggest play on the gridiron was against Baker his sophomore year, when he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Stan Bettin. That was a Top 10 longest pass play in the OU record books for many years.

Family Members:
Wife – Patricia (Thiel) Maack ’59
Daughter – Yvonne (Maack) Sexton, her husband, Michael, and three grandchildren
Son – David Maack ’85, his wife, Michele, and five grandchildren
Sister – Kathryn (Maack) Neill
Brother – John Maack ’62

Current/Past Business, Profession or Occupation:
Dick is retired after a dedicated career in education, which included being a teacher, counselor and school administrator. He worked in all levels of education from elementary school to college. Dick also served as OU’s director of admissions for four years from 1987 to 1990. During his time leading student recruitment, enrollment increased by 12 percent.

Current/Past Community Involvement:
Dick served on the Ottawa University Board of Trustees for nine years from 2008 to 2017. He was also a member of the Alumni Board for five years, serving two terms as president. Dick is active in his church, Prairie Baptist in Prairie Village, Kan., having served on the board of deacons. His other community involvement includes volunteering for the Interfaith Hospitality Network for the homeless and organizing charity golf tournaments for 20 years. He has also volunteered for Catholic Charities.