Reed Knute Swenson was born February 16, 1903 in Provo, Utah to John Canute Swensen and Margaret Ellen Davis. He attended Brigham Young High School where he played football and basketball. In 1926, he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor in History. He continued his education at the University of Southern California where he obtained his Master’s Degree. After World War II, he obtained his Doctorate Degree from the University of Utah.

After he graduated from Brigham Young University, he began teaching and coaching at Monroe High School. While here, he coached football, basketball, and track and taught a variety of courses including Men’s Physical Education, Physiology, Civics, and Study Hall. In 1929, he moved to Murray High School where he taught for four years. During this time, he led the school to become State Basketball Champions.

In 1933 he was hired by the State Board of Education to be the Athletic Director and Physical Education Director at Weber College. One of his first assignments in this new job was to help with the transition of Weber College from being run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to being a state-run institution. Throughout his career at Weber College, he continued to help the Athletic program and Physical Education department grow. In the early 1960s, he helped with the transition of Weber College from being in the NCAAJ athletic division to being a founding member of the Big Sky Conference.

In 1968, he retired as the Athletic Director and Head of the Physical Education Department. He died on April 2, 1989 in Ogden, Utah.