Frank Broyles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Franklin "Frank" Broyles (born December 26, 1924 in Decatur, Georgia) is a former NCAA football player, coach, and broadcaster, and the athletic director for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. On February 17, 2007 he announced retirement plans effective December 31, 2007.^[1]

Contents 1 College 2 Coaching 3 Athletic Director 4 Criticism 5 Legacy 6 References

[edit] College

Broyles graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Management. He led the Georgia Tech football team to four bowl appearances as quarterback. He was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1944. Until Michigan quarterback Tom Brady broke his record in 2000, Broyles held the Orange Bowl record for most passing yards in a game and is a member of the Orange Bowl, Gator Bowl, and Cotton Bowl Halls of Fame and the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame.

[edit] Coaching

Broyles entered coaching in 1947 as an assistant coach under head coach Bob Woodruff at Baylor University. In 1950 Broyles followed Woodruff when the latter took the head coach position at the University of Florida. In 1951 he left Baylor and returned to Georgia Tech as an offensive coordinator under Coach Bobby Dodd. Broyles left Georgia Tech in 1957 when he was offered the position of head coach at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Broyles stayed at Missouri only one season when he was offered the position he had dreamed of having at Arkansas. During his many decades he has been offered other major coaching at leadership positions but has remained at Arkansas.

During his tenure at Arkansas Broyles coached the Razorbacks to seven Southwest Conference championships and two Cotton Bowl wins. He is still the winningest head coach in Arkansas football history. During the 1960s and 1970s one of college football's most intense rivalries was between Broyles' Razorbacks and the University of Texas Longhorns under legendary coach Darrell Royal.

[edit] Athletic Director

In 1974 Broyles was appointed Athletic Director of the University of Arkansas. Broyles continued as head football coach for three years. Since stepping down as head coach the University of Arkansas athletic programs, under his leadership, have won 43 national championships. The University of Arkansas has won 57 Southwest Conference championships and 27 Southeastern Conference championships while he has been athletic director.

On February 17, 2007, Broyles announced his plans to retire as Athletic Director at the University of Arkansas, effective December 31, 2007, which will end 50 years of association with the Arkansas athletic programs as either head football coach or athletic director.^[1]

[edit] Criticism

Broyles has been criticized for his strict policy against scheduling and playing the only other two Arkansas I-A schools, Arkansas State Indians and University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans, while continuing to schedule lower division schools, as well as Arkansas State's Sun Belt Conference rivals, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette. Broyles' policy became a minor issue in the 2006 gubernatorial election due to candidate Mike Beebe's status as an ASU alumnus and fan.^[2]

In 2000 Broyles worked to convince the Arkansas legislature to move all Razorback home games to Fayetteville and end more than a half-century of scheduling two or three home games each year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. This effort prompted considerable media coverage and fan concern in the central Arkansas area before a compromise was eventually reached to retain at least one home game in Little Rock.^[3]

Broyles' relationship with Ted Herrod, a wealthy booster in Dallas, came under fire after it was revealed Herrod had been overcompensating Razorback athletes who worked part-time jobs at his trucking company.^[4] A lengthy NCAA investigation followed which resulted in several minor sanctions.^[5] Arkansas fans commonly refer to the investigation as the "NCAA Cloud" that hung over the program.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legacy

Over thirty of his former players have also become college or professional football coaches. Broyles is known for producing high quality coaches and the prestigious Broyles Award, the annual award for best assistant coach, is named after him. Barry Switzer, Johnny Majors, Joe Gibbs and Jimmy Johnson all served under Broyles and have combined to win five collegiate national championships and five Super Bowl championships. Broyles' assistants have won more than 40 conference titles.

Broyles worked for nine years with the ABC network, where he served as their top color commentator for college football telecasts with play-by-play announcers Chris Schenkel and Keith Jackson.

Broyles' tenure as athletic director has seen the construction of world class facilities for basketball, football, track and field, and baseball at Arkansas. Broyles was selected as the 20th century's most influential Arkansas sports figure.

Broyles is known as a fierce competitor both as a head coach and athletic director. Broyles led Arkansas out of the Southwest Conference and into the Southeastern Conference.

In 1983 Broyles was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 1996, the Broyles Award was established to recognize the top assistant coaches in college football.

[edit] References

Preceded by Don Faurot	University of Missouri Head Football Coaches 1957	Succeeded by Dan Devine
Preceded by Jack Mitchell	University of Arkansas Head Coaches 1958–1976	Succeeded by Lou Holtz