Frank Broyles Left Lasting Impact on Razorbacks
Frank Broyles waves to the crowd at the dedication of the football field as Frank Broyles Field on Nov. 4, 2007. Photo Courtesy of Russell Cothren
Frank Broyles died on Aug. 14, leaving behind a lasting legacy in Arkansas. In his 92 years, he became a figurehead for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
A Football Life
Broyles was born in Decatur, Georgia. After graduating from high school, he attended Georgia Tech, just six miles outside of his hometown. It was there that his football life would truly take form.
As the starting quarterback, he led the Yellow Jackets to four straight bowl games, winning the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award in 1944.
In 1947, he accepted an assistant coaching position at Baylor University. He later accepted positions with the University of Florida and Georgia Tech, his alma mater. Then he accepted the head coach position at the University of Missouri for the 1957 season, spending just one season in Columbia before spending the rest of his life in Fayetteville.
As head coach of the Razorback football team, Broyles led the team to a 71 percent win percentage. From 1958 to 1976, Broyles went 144-58-5 while accruing seven Southwestern Conference titles and winning the national title in 1964, the only in Arkansas football history.
Renovating Lives
As athletic director for the UofA, Broyles took the Razorbacks to previously-unknown heights.
Under him, Arkansas won 43 national titles, 57 SWC titles, 48 SEC titles and went to 22 football bowl games.
But Broyles left another long-lasting legacy at the UofA: renovating an aging campus.
With Broyles’ help, the UofA renovated or built new stadiums and fields for most of its major sports.
At the time of its construction in 1992, Razorback Field, the home of Arkansas women’s soccer, was the first collegiate soccer field in the country dedicated solely for the use of a women’s team, according to the Razorback website.
Baum Stadium, ranked by D1 Baseball’s website as the No. 5 ballpark in the country, was constructed under Broyles’ supervision in 1996.
The Donald W. Reynolds Football Stadium was renovated to modern standards, in terms of seating capacity and jumbotrons, while he was athletic director.
Bud Walton Arena, the Basketball Palace of Mid-America, was constructed in 1993, just a year before the Razorbacks won the 1994 NCAA National Championship.
Barnhill Arena changed from the men’s basketball home court to the home of the women’s volleyball team after major renovations and updating.
Broyles oversaw the Razorbacks’ move from the SWC to the SEC, in a move that permanently altered the college football playing field.
“He was also tremendously loyal to the SEC,” said Roy Kramer, who was the commissioner of the SEC when Broyles and the Razorbacks made their move to the conference. “He was so proud when Arkansas came into the SEC. He cherished that moment all his life and he believed strongly it was the right move. I think time has proved that correct.”
In his 33 years as athletic director for the UofA, Kramer said Broyles embodied the Razorback spirit.
“The stadium and all the facilities, they are really a monument to Frank and all that he did for the university,” Kramer said. “He was more than a coach and athletic director. He was the heart and soul of that university.”
Changing Landscapes
During his one season with Missouri, Broyles left a lasting impact. He integrated the university’s football team by recruiting it’s first black players in running backs Norris Stevenson and Mel West.
Broyles pioneered athletic integration in southern schools.
After 11 successful seasons with the Razorbacks, then-head basketball coach Eddie Sutton resigned in 1985 to take the head-coaching position at the University of Kentucky.
Broyles selection for his replacement would change the collegiate basketball landscape forever.
Broyles named Nolan Richardson the head coach of the Razorback basketball team April 9, 1985. Richardson was the first black collegiate head coach of a major sport in the South.
“The search was not just for someone who would maintain the excellent program that Coach Sutton built here but someone who would have the potential of raising it to even greater heights,” Broyles said in 1985. “That was the test I used in making this decision, and I am convinced that Nolan Richardson is the man for the job.”
A Celebration of a Charmed Life
On Aug. 19, Broyles was celebrated by family and friends who were a part of his charmed life.
Broyles spent 60 years in Northwest Arkansas, but it was his 50 years at the UofA that solidified his lasting legacy.
A procession of former coaches, players and family came on stage to honor the coach. Through humor and stories from his years of life, the guests showed just how great an honor it was to be a part of Broyles’ family.
“(When I was hired) we went to every Razorback club we could, and he’d give me a glowing introduction all the time, and finally, I said, ‘Hey coach, you need to back off a little bit on that introduction,” said Ken Hatfield, former player and coach for the Razorbacks. “(Because of the change in scholarship regulations, things have changed since you were head coach.) All the sudden we could have a couple of injuries … and next thing you know, we could be 5-5, coach. Would you still love me then?’ He said, ‘Yes sir, Ken, I’ll love you.’ He said, ‘I’ll miss you, too.’”
Broyles’ humor and personality affected the people surrounding him in a profound way. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also had many adulatory things to say when he reflected about his former mentor.
"I wasn't really important to Coach Broyles in what we're celebrating here today," Jones said. "Coach Broyles was totally essential to my life, though."