Merle Masonholder is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player, coach, and sports figure in the United States.

Playing history

Masonholder played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...

, where he was a two-time first team "All-Conference" tackle and received honorable mention as an All-America athlete.

Carroll College

Masonholder was the 26th head football coach for the Carroll College Pioneers (later "Carroll University") located in Waukesha, Wisconsin

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Waukesha is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The population was 70,718 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in the county and 7th largest in the state. The city is located adjacent to the Town of Waukesha...

 and he held that position for nineteen seasons, from 1982 until 2000. His career coaching record at Carroll College was 83 wins, 83 losses, and 0 ties. This ranks him first at Carroll College in total wins and 12th at Carroll College in winning percentage.

Central Methodist University

Masonholder later became the head coach at Central Methodist University

Central Methodist University

Central Methodist University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is an accredited four year institution of higher education and offers masters, bachelors, and associates degrees...

 in Fayette, Missouri

Fayette, Missouri

Fayette is a city in Howard County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,793 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County. It is in the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

from 2001 until the conclusion of the 2007 season. While at CMU, he oversaw many positive changes in the football program and athletic deparmtnet.