TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
His University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) 1970 NAIA wrestling team won the state’s first national title in a college sport; • Doctorate recipient in the Uni- versity of Nebraska’s College of Education; • Faculty member at the University of Omaha, now University of Nebras- ka-Omaha (UNO); • Athletic director at an Omaha Public Schools high school, Central High; • U.S. Olympic wrestling committee member (1969). Family man, Coach, and Educa- tor, Brother Dr. Benning entered the Chapter Invisible on July 14, 2017 due to multiple health issue stemming from kidney failure at the age of 80. Born on October 10, 1936 in Omaha, Nebraska., Brother Benning was the youngest of Erdie and Mary Benning’s five children and grew up in the Sher- man Elementary neighborhood near 16 th and Fort Streets. He attended Omaha North High School where he wrestled and played baseball and football prior to graduating in 1954. In an autobiograph- ical essay, he considered baseball his best sport and played on the Woodbine (Iowa) Whiz Kids semipro team with fu- ture Hall of Famer pitcher Bob Gibson. Iowa State University offered Benning an opportunity to walk on to their wres- tling team but instead, he enrolled at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, for one semester before transferring to Omaha University. Playing fullback, he had an injury-plagued football career with two knee injuries, the latter in the first game of his senior season as a co-captain, and a broken wrist. Brother Benning par- ticipated in only one wrestling season, when Omaha University reinstituted the sport in his senior year. He was undefeated, but the school bypassed the 1958 NAIA nationals. After graduating from Omaha University, Dr. Benning planned to move to Chicago to begin a teaching career when his alma
mater offered him a graduate two-year fellowship in the education department. He served as acting director of Omaha’s Near North Side YMCA when Omaha University hired him in 1963 to be wres- tling coach and an assistant coach in football. “I took over the reins ... know- ing full well I would be closely watched,’’ Dr. Benning said in his autobiographical essay. He further commented: “You have to understand in the early 1960s, when I was first in these posi- tions, there wasn’t a push nationally for diversity or participation in society. The push for change came in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act, when organizations were forced to look at things differently. As conservative a community as Omaha was and still is it made my hiring more unusual. I was on the fast track... On the academic side or the athletic side, the bottom line was I had to get the job done. I was walking in water that hadn’t been walked in before. I could not afford not to be successful. Being black and young, there was tremendous pressure…not to mention the fact I needed to win.” Dr. Benning coached his wrestling teams at Omaha University and UNO had an 87-24-4 record, including 55-3-2 during his final four seasons. After finishing as runner-up in the NAIA nationals in 1968 and 1969, Omaha University won the title in 1970 which was the state of Nebraska first-ever collegiate national championship. He left the world of coaching collegiate wrestling after a national third-place fin- ish in 1971 to become assistant principal and athletic director at Omaha Central High School. Dr. Benning served in the Omaha Public-School (OPS) system for over a quarter century. In addition to his position as an assistant principal and athletic director at Central High School, he was director of the Department of Human-Community Relations for OPS, and assistant superintendent. He helped lead the district’s desegregation effort and developed the nationally-recognized Adopt-a-School program. Former fellow
OPS colleague Superintendent Norbert Schuerman remembered, “Benning was very active in the desegregation program, he was very concerned that all students were treated fairly and receiving the kind of opportunity the district should offer them.” Schuerman also added that Dr. Benning had an opinionated and forceful personality that made him a strong advocate for kids and ensuring equity across schools. He also worked for racial equity in education including through the school district’s Minority Intern Program and Pacesetter Academy. “He was a beacon of light for the Omaha Public Schools and the Omaha community,” Omaha North Principal Gene Haynes said. He retired from the Omaha Public-School System in 1997. After leaving secondary education, Dr. Benning transitioned to higher educa- tion when joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where he became was the first African- American doctorate recipient in the uni- versity’s College of Education. While at UNL, Dr. Benning was coordinator of the school’s urban education pro- gram, charged with training educators to become administrators in urban and diverse school systems. He taught at UNL until his retirement in 2011. A 1957 initiate of the Alpha Eta of Kappa Alpha Psi ® at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Chapter, the, Dr. Benning affiliated with the Omaha (NE) Alumni Chapter. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Dr. Benning was NAIA Wrestling Coach of the Year, a member of the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame and a member of the 1969 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Committee. He is a member of the Omaha University Hall of Fame and the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame. “As far as being a pioneer, I never set out to be a part of history. I feel very privi- leged and honored having accomplished things no one else had accomplished. So, I can’t help but feel that maybe I’ve
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
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