William “Bill” Novak

Teacher/Coach William “Bill” Novak impacted students over four decades as a legendary football coach and extraordinary motivator. Bill was a History instructor at OTHS for 35 years, and football coach for 25 years during the period 1947-1972, and served for many years as the Director of Athletics. He is a member of the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame. During his illustrious coaching career his teams amassed a record of 167 wins, 46 losses, and 12 ties. He had 10 undefeated teams during his career at OTHS. During the period 1957-1972, he had a record of 120 wins, 11 losses, and 4 ties and from 1964-1972, 68 wins, against only 3 losses and 1 tie. Novak’s teams won 13 outright NCIC titles and one tie. He produced 4 All-American players and countless All-State athletes. He established the tradition of “Root, Hog or Die” that continues to this day encouraging teams to play hard and play to win.