Otto German ’73 retires from the College after 50 years on campus.

The College of Charleston community is invited to a drop-in retirement reception honoring Otto German ’73 and John Kresse in the TD Arena McAlister Hospitality Suite from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.

Both campus icons are retiring after long and legendary careers in College of Charleston athletics.

Before joining athletics as the director of NCAA compliance in 1992, German worked in a variety of capacities at the College, including as assistant director of financial aid and veterans affairs (1973-76), assistant director of student activities (1976-79), assistant director of admissions (1979-86) and associate dean of admissions (1986-92). When he first arrived on campus as a student 50 years ago, it was still a small private school with just 445 students.

RELATED: Read about the Otto B. German ’73 Endowed Alumni Scholarships in Athletics.

John Kresse

John Kresse retires from the College after a legendary and game-changing career.

“I’ve seen a lot of change and I’ve done a number of things during my time here,” says German. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with so many wonderful people, and I’ve built some great relationships that will last a lifetime.”

One of those relationships is with Kresse, whose 23-year, record-setting tenure as head coach for men’s basketball at the College of Charleston began in 1979 and established him as one of the top coaches in the country and brought national recognition to the College. Kresse – now serving as special assistant to the CofC athletics director – was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. He is also a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame (1999), NAIA Hall of Fame (2005), South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame (2001) and College of Charleston Athletics Hall of Fame (2015). The court at the College’s TD Arena is named in Kresse’s honor.

The Department of Athletics invites faculty and staff to come and celebrate these two College of Charleston legends as they head into retirement. Light refreshments will be served.