 DeGroot was also the head football coach at Santa Barbara State College—now the University of California, Santa Barbara (1926–1928), San Jose State University (1932–1939), the University of Rochester (1940–1943), West Virginia University (1948–1949), and the University of New Mexico (1950–1952), compiling a career college football record of 117–67–9.In addition, he served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1947.DeGroot's collegiate participation in sports records that at Stanford University he competed in basketball, football, swimming, and water polo.