Bob Holder is a former University of Idaho football player, assistant coach and long-time member of the Vandal Booster Club’s Board of Directors.
Bob came to the University of Idaho in 1949 on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He walked on the football team as a freshman and played linebacker in coach Steve Belko’s final season. He started as a sophomore for coach Dixie Howell and was a three-year starter. He was named captain of the 1952 team and earned all-conference honors both his junior and senior season. He also was an honorable mention All-American selection at linebacker as a senior.
Bob was chosen to play in the East-West All-Star Game but because injuries to his knee and shoulder, he was unable to participate.
Bob went into the Navy following his graduation (cum laude honors) and was involved in the Korean conflict shortly thereafter. He served in the Navy for three years, and then returned to UI in 1956 as a chemistry instructor and line coach for the Idaho freshmen team.
His devotion to the UI went a new director in 1960 when he joined the Vandal Booster Club’s Board of Directors. He was president of the board in 1964 and was named the Vandal Booster of the Year, also in ’64. Along with Bob Jackson, the two initiated the Vandal Booster Endowment Fund in 1976 and served as chairman of the fund for several years. He also established a Vandal Booster scholarship in his name, and then served on the UI’s Foundation Board.