Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Athletics Remembers Bob Dro
5/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Varsity Club
May 24, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana Athletics family lost one of its most beloved members in Bob Dro on May 4. A life-long Hoosier, Dro's infectious smile and whole-hearted commitment to IU and the athletic department will be forever missed.
Dro graduated from Indiana University in 1941 with a degree in education. He was a starter on Indiana's first NCAA men's basketball championship team in 1940, earning All-Big Ten honors. The 1940 team defeated Kansas, 60-42, to finish the year 20-3. After graduation, Dro went on to play baseball professionally for the Brooklyn Dodgers and professional basketball with the Indianapolis Kautskys.
Following his time in professional athletics, Dro taught and coached before joining the Navy to serve in World War II. Dro was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant while serving aboard the destroyer USS Pruitt in the Pacific.
After the war, Dro returned to teaching and coaching briefly before coming Bloomington to work as the Alumni Field Secretary until 1951. After a six-year stint as the public relations director for Standard Oil, Dro again returned to his alma mater as an assistant athletic director. Dro served in this capacity from 1957-1976. During his 19-year tenure at Indiana, Hoosier teams won an impressive 43 Big Ten titles and 12 NCAA Championships. In 1976, he was named the Director of University Relations at Indiana where he served until his retirement in 1984.
Dro was honored as a member of the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary team in 1962 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976. A 1985 recipient of the prestigious Zora G. Clevenger Award, Dro was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Indiana University Foundation for a scholarship in Dro's name.
