Legendary BYU Football Coach Dead At Age 83
PROVO, UTAH – June 23, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Tommy Hudspeth, former head football coach for Brigham Young University died in Oklahoma Tuesday after a battling cancer. He was 83.
Hudspeth coached BYU from 1965 to 1971 and is largely credited for putting the Cougar’s modern day football program on the map.
In 1965, Huspeth lead BYU to its first conference title.
In 1966, Hudspeth led BYU to an 8-2 record on the back of an aggressive passing attack that would become synonymous with BYU’s football program. During that year Cougar quarterback Virgil Carter threw for 2,182 yards, the third highest passing total in the entire NCAA. It was BYU’s best season since the going 8-1 in 1932.
Hudspeth resigned as BYU’s head coach after posting a disappointing 5-6 in 1971. He was replaced by LaVell Edwards.
Hudspeth went on to coach at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1972-73 season, before returning to the ranks of professional football, where he coached the Chicago Fire in the newly World Football League. He then went on to coach the Detroit Lions in the 1976-77 season before moving on to the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts.
In addition to his coaching prowess, Hudspeth is also being remembered for recruiting Ronnie Knight, the first African-American football player in BYU history.
BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe issued a statement on Twitter Tuesday, calling Hudspeth, “A fine coach and a great gentleman.”
