Hall of Fame
William Altenburg joined the Adelphi athletics staff back in 1946 as an instructor in the department of Physical Education responsible for the organization of men’s athletics. Since then, he has accomplished many feats and played an integral role in making Adelphi athletics what it was and what it is today. Altenburg was the igniter of instituting football as a varsity sport for Adelphi College and served as their first coach when they took the field for the first time in history in the fall of 1947. He also served as the head coach of the men’s basketball and golf teams as well as Director of Athletics, a position he was appointed to in July of 1950.
Altenburg was a main part of the addition of new sports to Adelphi. Through his tireless efforts, baseball, track, swimming and wrestling were added as varsity sports to the athletic program. Concurrently, he was also a member of the Admissions Committee as well as a member of the Student-Faculty Committee on Student Activities, Director of Men’s Physical Education and Director of Intramurals. In 1951, Altenburg resigned from the Athletics portion of Adelphi and (resigning from coaching football and basketball as well as Athletic Director) took a teaching role instead. “I have developed a desire to direct my efforts toward the teaching of physical education and coaching [golf], and will take advantage of the opportunity that allowed me to transfer my services to the Physical Education Department at Adelphi.”
