Athletic Hall of Fame
Class of 2006
DENNIS DAKER (Class of 1972)
Dennis is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Athletic Hall of Fame as an Athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in wrestling for the Peacocks in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972. He also lettered in cross country.
Daker was a three-time Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Champion at 142 pounds in 1970, and 150 pounds in both 1971 and 1972. In 1972, Daker was named the Most Valuable Performer by the IIAC.
Upper Iowa during that time held National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) membership and Daker qualified four times for the National Wrestling Tournament. He became a two-time NAIA All-American placing sixth at 150 pounds in 1971 and fifth at 150 pounds in 1972 as a senior. During his career, he was instrumental in the Peacocks capturing four consecutive IIAC Wrestling Titles from 1969 through 1972. He wrestled under coaches Mike Olson for three years and Jim Killbreath for his senior year.
A graduate of South Winneshiek High School in Calmar, Iowa, he earned eleven athletic letters, and won the Upper Iowa Conference wrestling championship four times. He earned a B.S. Degree in 1972 with a double major in Physical Education and Biology.
Presently Daker lives in a mountain area west of Boulder, Colorado. He has coached wrestling for a number of years. He is currently the wrestling coach at Broomfield High School. Along with his coaching duties, he has a career of sales and construction since 1972 in Colorado.
Dennis has a son, Casey, and a daughter, Cally.
RICK NETOLICKY (Class of 1972)
Rick is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Athletic Hall of Fame as an Athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in baseball in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972.
Netolicky was a three-time Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection as an Outfielder. He was named to the first team in 1971 and 1972 and to the second team in 1970. Upper Iowa University held NAIA membership those years and he was selected to the NAIA District 15 team for three consecutive years (1970, 1971, and 1972). In 1972 he topped these honors by receiving an Honorable Mention All-American selection. A .364 hitter in baseball for his career, he was very instrumental in Upper Iowa's two IIAC Baseball Conference Championships in 1971 and 1972, while playing for coaches Stan Jack and Bill Prochaska.
Throughout his 25-year coaching career in baseball, 13 as head coach at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids from 1988 to 2000, Netolicky earned many honors and citations. In 1994 the team won the IHSAA 4A State Championship. Netolicky had three teams in the State Tournament (1994, 1999, and 2000), also named in 1994 4A Iowa Coach of the Year.
An outstanding high school athlete at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Netolicky was the first to receive the "Athlete of the Year" in 1968, competing in baseball and wrestling. He was named to the Kennedy Hall of Fame in 1996 as an athlete and to the Washington Hall of Fame in 2001 as a coach.
Netolicky earned a B.S. degree in Physical Education and Elementary Education in 1972. Then he embarked as an educator for 34 years in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, 30 years at Harrison Elementary, as a classroom teacher and building facilitator, and the last four years at Garfield Elementary as the school's Principal.
Rick and his wife, Jan (Jones), a 1972 Upper Iowa University graduate, live in Cedar Rapids and are the parents of sons Bryan, Greg and Chad.
GREG VON ARX (Class of 1996)
Greg is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Athletic Hall of Fame as an Athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in basketball for the Peacocks from 1993 to 1996. Von Arx was named First-Team Center in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1994, 1995, and 1996. He was named the IIAC Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player in 1996. He was an instrumental player on the Upper Iowa Conference Championship teams of 1994 and 1996 under Coach Stu Engen. Von Arx gained National Honors after his senior season. He was selected as an NCAA Division III Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region, and West Region Player of the Year. He received the NCAA National Player of the Week once in 1996.
As a senior, Von Arx averaged 19.6 points and 7 rebounds in leading the Peacocks to a 22-4 record. The team qualified for the West Regional Tournament. Presently, he is sixth on the All-Time Scoring List with 1,551 points and eighth on the All-Time Rebounding List with 665.
After Upper Iowa, Von Arx earned a spot on the training camp roster of the LaCrosse Bobcats, a CBA team. He played professional basketball in the Domincan Republic for Juan Pablo and then was signed by Retrio 23 in San Pedro.
In 1998, Von Arx joined the United States Air Force. His career field was Chaplain Assistant and he was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota for four years. Von Arx was deployed to Cairo, Egypt in 1999 and Tuzla, Bosnia in 2000.
In 2004, Von Arx earned a Master of Divinity in Biblical Languages from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is presently a Customer Relations Specialist at Carlson Marketing Worldwide.
A graduate of La Crescent High School in La Crescent, Minnesota, Greg now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
DICK TIMMERMAN-SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Dick is being recognized by the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame for his contributions and his knowledge in the fields of Equipment Management and Athletic Training.
He started his career at Upper Iowa University in 1961 and became the first fulltime Head Trainer and Equipment Manager in 1963. He was appointed by the late Mr. Eb Eischeid to work with all sports at that time. This appointment lasted twenty-two years. In August 2003, Dick returned to Upper Iowa as the Football Equipment Manager.
In 1982, Timmerman accepted the position of Head Equipment Manager at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He was in charge of purchasing and designing equipment for nineteen sports. In 1993, Dick accepted a position as the Head Football Equipment Manager at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He worked with the Hawkeyes' uniform design with both Apex and Reebok athletic apparel companies. Timmerman retired from this position in 2001.
Timmerman has enjoyed an illustrious career in his chosen fields. He worked as a trainer in the 1971 NAIA District Wrestling Tournament and repeated the honor at the NAIA National Wrestling Tournament in 1973 and 1975. In 1976, he was selected as Head Trainer for the USA-NAIA Cultured Exchange Wrestling Team, which traveled to Japan and Korea. Timmerman is a past member of the National Athletic Equipment Manager Association, having participated actively in clinics throughout the United States.
Dick and wife Bonnie live in Fayette. They are the parents of three sons; Curtis, a 1998 Upper Iowa graduate, Michael, and Jay.
