University of Arkansas officials will unveil a statue of Frank Broyles prior to the Arkansas-LSU football game on Nov. 23.
A dedication ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. at the front entrance of the Broyles Athletic Center, located between Lot 44 and Razorback Stadium. The event is free and open to the public.
Broyles, 87, served the University of Arkansas for more than 50 years as a head football coach and athletic director.
“For more than 50 years, Coach Broyles made numerous significant contributions as a coach and as an athletic administrator,” said athletic director Jeff Long in a news release. “It is fitting that soon a statue in front of the Broyles Athletic Center will further serve as a permanent tribute to the immeasurable impact Coach Broyles has had on the Razorback program, our university, our state and the world of intercollegiate athletics.”
Frank Broyles
Broyles came to Arkansas in December 1957 after assistant coaching positions at Baylor, Florida and Georgia Tech and a head coaching position at Missouri. Broyles first served as the Razorbacks’ head football coach in 1958 before taking over the reins of the athletics program in 1973. He served in dual roles until 1976. As head coach, Broyles compiled a 144-58-5 record in 19 seasons, was named the AFCA national coach of the year in 1964 and Southwest Conference coach of the year six times.
Arkansas won the 1964 national championship and won seven SWC titles. His teams earned 10 bowl bids, and he coached 20 All-Americans and 88 All-Southwest Conference selections. Soon after his retirement from coaching, Broyles made a move to the broadcasting booth working along-side legendary sports announcer Keith Jackson with ABC’s college football coverage for nine years.
As men’s athletics director, Broyles oversaw a program that claimed 43 national titles, 57 championships in the SWC and 48 SEC championships, and earned 22 football bowl bids. During his tenure, Broyles oversaw the construction and renovation of all athletic facilities on campus including the renovation of Razorback Stadium and the construction of Bud Walton Arena and Baum Stadium. The more than $215 million invested in facilities was paid through private donations which Broyles helped raise.
The recipient of numerous awards, Broyles was a member of the inaugural class of the UA Sports Hall of Honor, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and was again honored by the National Football Foundation as the recipient of the John L. Toner Award for outstanding achievement as an athletics director in 2000. Broyles has served on the NCAA Football Rules Committee (1969-74), as AFCA President (1970) and on the NACDA Executive Committee (1989-91). He has been named to the halls of fame for the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Gator Bowl, Georgia Tech and the state of Georgia.
In 1996, Broyles was honored with an award named in his honor, the Broyles Award, which is given to the country’s top assistant football coach. Broyles was also the recipient of the 2007 NACDA/NIT Athletics Director Award and was inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2008.
The field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium was named Frank Broyles Field on Nov. 3, 2007.
