Successful football coach, athletic director at the University of Arkansas
Associated Press
Frank Broyles, who guided the University of Arkansas to its lone national football championship and later molded the overall program as its athletic director, died Monday at the age of 92.
Mr. Broyles died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a statement from his family. “He passed peacefully in his home surrounded by his loved ones,” the statement said.
Mr. Broyles won almost 71 percent of his games as head football coach with the Razorbacksfor 19 years. He became the school’s athletic director in 1974 while still the football coach, eventually retiring from the gridiron to focus on administrative duties followingthe 1976 season.
As athletic director, Mr. Broyles led an overhaul and upgrade of Arkansas’ facilities — as well as leading the school in its move to the Southeastern Conference. Following his coaching career, Mr. Broyles — who earned a spot in the National Football Foundation’s College Hall Fame — served as an analyst on ABC’s college football telecasts.
While his coaching record of 144-48-5 defined the first part of his career, Mr. Broyles’ legacy at Arkansas is every bit equaled by his workas athletic director.
Arkansas’ athletic facilities underwent a near-complete overhaul following the school’s move from the Southwest Conference to the SECin 1991.
Mr. Broyles spearheaded the fundraising efforts that led to the construction of Bud Walton Arena, the renovation of and additions to Razorback Stadium and the building of Baum Stadium. He also guided the school as it built indoor and outdoor tracks, a tennis facility and the athletic administrative complexthat bears his name.
He was known for his ability to identify top coaches, both head coaches and assistants. He was responsible for the hiring of basketball coaches Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson as well as Lou Holtz and Ken Hatfield in football. Mr. Broyles also hired former great John McDonnellin track.
Mr. McDonnell won 40 national championships with the Razorbacks, while Mr. Richardson led Arkansas to the 1994 national championshipin men’s basketball.
Mr. Broyles retired as athletic director in 2007, moving into a fundraising role with the school’s Razorback Foundation until his retirement from that role in 2014.
“For the past 56 years, I have had the privilege or working in the only job I ever wanted — to be the head football coach and then the athletic director of the Razorbacks,” Mr. Broyles said at the time. “The Razorbacks have always been my passion.”
He spent much of his time later in life attending various Arkansas sporting events and raising money for Alzheimer’s awareness after the 2004 death of his wife, Barbara, following a battle with the disease.
He started the Frank and Barbara Broyles Foundation CareGivers United, an Alzheimer’s education organization, and wrote a book that published more than 800,000 copies and focused on helping those who care for loved oneswith Alzheimer’s.
“In 50 years, people are going to look back and that’s what they are going to remember him for, his second legacy,” said Mr. Broyles’ daughter,Betsy Arnold.
Under Mr. Broyles as coach, the Razorbacks won or shared seven Southwest Conference football titles and wentto 10 bowl games.
That included a win over Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl following the 1964 regular season, which left the Razorbacks 11-0. Alabama also was undefeated entering the bowl season and was named the national champion by The Associated Press poll, but the Crimson Tide lost its bowl game to Texas — leading to Arkansas being named the champion by the Football Writers Association of America.
Severalprominent football figures were members of the undefeated 1964 football team, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, former Miami Hurricanes and Dallascoach Jimmy Johnson andHatfield.
“He’s a life teacher,” Mr. Jones told The Associated Press in 2014. “He always spoke about football as it related to life.”
One of Mr. Broyles’ first moves as athletic director was the hiring of Mr. Sutton, the coaching great who took over a struggling basketball program and turned it into a national power.
Following Mr. Sutton’s departure, Mr. Broyles once again struck coaching gold with the hiring of Mr. Richardson — though the two strong personalities later clashed when Mr. Richardson was fired in 2002 and claimed he was a victim of racial discrimination, a lawsuit that eventually was ruled without merit.
A couple dozen of Mr. Broyles’ players or assistants became head coaches, leading to the creation of the annual Broyles Award — giving to the nation’s top assistant coach— in his honor.
“I will forever be grateful for the generosity, graciousness and unwavering support he extended to me when I came to the University of Arkansas,” said current Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, who left the University of Pittsburgh to join the Razorbacks. “The thoughts and prayers of the entire Razorback nation are with his wife Gen, his children and the entireBroyles family.”