He played college basketball at the University of Michigan from 1949 to 1952 and was the captain, leading scorer, and most valuable player of the 1951–52 team.
Skala grew up in Chicago and attended Lindblom High School.
[2] He was the captain, leading scorer, and most valuable player for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team during the 1951–52 season.
He then served six years as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Michigan and was responsible for recruiting Cazzie Russell to play for the Wolverines.
Russell averaged 25.7 points per game and Bill Buntin 20.1 in leading Big Ten champion Michigan to the 1965 NCAA Tournament championship game against UCLA, a 91-80 loss.