Houghton University Athletics

Almost seventy years ago, a young man walked onto the Houghton College campus after his drive from Long Island. He was arriving as a student – and an unlikely one at that. His family and friends questioned that the young man would be able to handle a collegiate academic load. On that day so many decades ago, this new student could not know what was in store for him at Houghton, nor could Houghton know what was in store for them in the man George Wells.  

 

Dr. George R. Wells was affectionately known to decades of students and college employees as “Coach.” After Coach’s graduation in June of 1947, President Stephen Paine asked Wells to remain at Houghton and lead the physical education and recreation program. He agreed and also began working on his master’s degree at Springfield College. The man whom so many doubted would be a strong academic completed his doctorate at the University of Buffalo in 1956.  

 

Coach worked at Houghton from 1947 to 1988 serving as the chair of the physical education department and the athletic department. In the 1960’s, it was Coach Wells who was instrumental in moving Houghton College into intercollegiate athletics. He was the college’s first field hockey coach and held the position for 12 years. Former field hockey player and current Houghton education professor Connie Finney ’78 remembers Coach Wells: “He was a very good coach and a fair-minded man who stressed the importance of our spirituality as we played the game. It was important to him that we knew we were witnessing on the field through our attitude. He taught us that faith was not just a compartment of our lives – it was supposed to touch everything we did.”

 

Wells served as a professor, a coach and an administrator within the athletic department. He played a major role in the planning of the Nielsen Physical Education Center that replaced the Bedford Gymnasium in 1980. His strong interest in swimming instruction was honored with the college pool bearing his name – the George Wells Natatorium. In 1993, Wells was an inaugural inductee into the Houghton College Athletic Hall of Honor and in 2005 was named a member of the Allegany County Sports Hall of Fame.  

 

George Wells left an incredible mark on the athletic department at Houghton; however, that work and influence pales in comparison to the impact he had on the spiritual lives of students. Coach experienced first-hand the revival of 1951 – a movement that swept the campus in all directions. His faith in Christ was deepened and his passion for the souls of students became a priority. He recorded the events on campus during the revival in a pamphlet entitled, “Our Land Was Healed.”   

Coach Wells has left a legacy of spiritual leadership and excellence of work ethic displayed through his time at Houghton. "Coach Wells was first and foremost committed to Christ," recalls current Athletic Director Harold "Skip" Lord. "Whether it was in the classroom, with Youth in One Accord or in athletics, his passion was making a difference in the spiritual lives of young people. He never tired of telling the amazing stories of what God did in, through and around him. Those of us who have followed him count it an honor to be able to build on the foundation which he helped lay. He was an example to all of us and has left us big shoes to fill."