Former Arkansas football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles died Monday at the age of 92, according to the University of Arkansas.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Coach Frank Broyles."https://t.co/aVqGTDiiuE pic.twitter.com/4OBqSEG4f6
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) August 14, 2017
A former quarterback at Georgia Tech, Broyles coached for one year at Missouri before taking over at Arkansas in 1958. He coached the Razorbacks until 1976, amassing a program record 144 wins, a national title, and seven Southwest Conference titles.
Broyles is far and away the best football coach in Arkansas history, and he was one of the figureheads of the Southwest Conference for decades. He turned Arkansas and Texas, under Darrell Royal, into major rivals. Arkansas’ win over top-ranked Texas in 1964 helped propel the Razorbacks to national prominence and the national title.
Last night LHN aired Darrell Royal's last game at Texas, a win over Arkansas. As the clock ran down UT players started to carry Royal off…
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) August 14, 2017
…at which point Frank Broyles called his last timeout to run one more completely meaningless play out of sheer spite. RIP
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) August 14, 2017
After retiring as a coach, Broyles became Arkansas’ athletic director—a job he continued until his retirement on the final day of 2007. While athletic director, Broyles facilitated Arkansas’ move from the SWC to the SEC in 1992, which ultimately led to the collapse of the SWC—the conference where Broyles spent his entire coaching career at Arkansas—in 1996.
Broyles was also a college football broadcaster for ABC from 1974 to 1985, alongside his tenure at Arkansas. No coach has come within 68 wins of Broyles’ record 144 at Arkansas.