Macalester College Athletics

Paul Olson was a standout in football and track and field for the Scots, while also wrestling and playing basketball for one year each. 

He earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior, and played professional football from 1972 to 1974 for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears.

A 1970 All-American in track and field, Olson placed eighth at the national meet in the shot put, and still holds the Macalester school shot put record he set in 1970—the longest-surviving men’s track and field school mark at Mac.

Olson is executive vice president for institutional advancement at Bethel University in St. Paul, overseeing the departments of alumni and parent services, communications and marketing, and development. 

A founding executive officer of Sterling Commerce, Inc., an e-commerce company, Olson joined the Minnesota Vikings as a front office executive and was an early innovator in the use of information technology for game analysis and strategy.