Bill Yeoman
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Elnora, Indiana, U.S. | December 26, 1927
Died | August 12, 2020 Houston, Texas, U.S. | (aged 92)
Playing career | |
1945 | Texas A&M |
1946–1948 | Army |
Position(s) | Center |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1954–1961 | Michigan State (assistant) |
1962–1986 | Houston |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 160–108–8 |
Bowls | 6–4–1 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
4 SWC (1976, 1978, 1979, 1984) | |
Awards | |
3x SWC Coach of the Year (1976, 1979, 1984) Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2003) Houston Sports Hall of Fame (2021) Second-team All-American (1948) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2001 (profile) |
William Frank Yeoman (December 26, 1927 – August 12, 2020) was an American
Playing career
Yeoman played
Coaching career
From 1950 to 1953, Yeoman served in the United States Army. After his return from the Army,[4] he became an assistant coach under Duffy Daugherty at Michigan State from 1954 to 1961.[5]
Houston
After serving as an assistant coach for eight seasons at
Running the Veer offense, Houston led the nation in total offense for three consecutive years in the late 1960s, with averages of more than 400 yards per game each year. The 1968 offensive total was the highest in the country (42.5 points per game), and set an NCAA record.[4] This average was aided in part by the Cougars' 100–6 victory over Tulsa that marked the last time that a team scored 100 points in a top-division college football game.
Houston joined the
In 1986, allegations surfaced that illegal
Yeoman coached 46 All-Americans, and 69 players who later competed in the National Football League, during his career.[1] Former Baylor head coach Art Briles also played for Yeoman at UH. In 1988, the NCAA slapped Houston with three years' probation for over 250 major violations in the latter part of Yeoman's tenure. The Cougars were banned from bowl games in 1989 and 1990 and kicked off live television in 1989. They were also limited to 15 scholarships for the 1989 season.[11] The NCAA said that the penalties would have been even harsher (including being limited to 20 scholarships for 1990 and 50 paid recruiting visits for 1989) had Yeoman still been coach.[10] As it turned out, the penalties that were imposed were harsh enough that the Cougars would need almost the entire decade of the 1990s to recover; they would only have two winning seasons from 1991 to 2004.
Later life and honors
Yeoman was inducted into the University of Houston Hall of Honor in 1998.[12] The College Football Hall of Fame inducted Yeoman in 2001,[4] and two years later the Texas Sports Hall of Fame named him as an inductee.[1][4] Also in 2002, Yeoman received the Paul "Bear" Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award.[13]
Yeoman died on August 12, 2020, at the age of 92, from kidney failure and pneumonia.[14]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houston Cougars (NCAA University Division / Division I independent) (1962–1975) | |||||||||
1962 | Houston | 7–4 | W Tangerine | ||||||
1963 | Houston | 2–8 | |||||||
1964 | Houston | 2–6–1 | |||||||
1965 | Houston | 4–5–1 | |||||||
1966 | Houston | 8–2 | 17 | ||||||
1967 | Houston | 7–3 | 19 | ||||||
1968 | Houston | 6–2–2 | 20 | 18 | |||||
1969 | Houston | 9–2 | W Astro-Bluebonnet | 16 | 12 | ||||
1970 | Houston | 8–3 | 13 | 19 | |||||
1971 | Houston | 9–3 | L Astro-Bluebonnet | 14 | 17 | ||||
1972 | Houston | 6–4–1 | |||||||
1973 | Houston | 11–1 | W Astro-Bluebonnet | 13 | 9 | ||||
1974 | Houston | 8–3–1 | T Astro-Bluebonnet | 11 | 19 | ||||
1975 | Houston | 2–8 | |||||||
Houston Cougars (Southwest Conference) (1976–1986) | |||||||||
1976 | Houston | 10–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | W Cotton | 4 | 4 | ||
1977 | Houston | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
1978 | Houston | 9–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L Cotton | 11 | 10 | ||
1979 | Houston | 11–1 | 7–1 | T–1st | W Cotton | 5 | 5 | ||
1980 | Houston | 7–5 | 5–3 | T–2nd | W Garden State | ||||
1981 | Houston | 7–4–1 | 5–2–1 | 3rd | L Sun | ||||
1982 | Houston | 5–5–1 | 4–3–1 | 4th | |||||
1983 | Houston | 4–7 | 3–5 | 7th | |||||
1984 | Houston | 7–5 | 6–2 | T–1st | L Cotton | ||||
1985 | Houston | 4–7 | 3–5 | 5th | |||||
1986 | Houston | 1–10 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
Houston: | 160–108–8 | 51–35–2 | |||||||
Total: | 160–108–8 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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References
- ^ a b c d e "Yeoman, Bill". Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ Brown, Mike (July 2, 2008). "Past tense". Tulsa World. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Bill Yeoman". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Bill Yeoman at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ a b Rexrode, Joe (April 22, 2009). "Perles, Yeoman were both football innovators". Lansing State Journal. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ Scoggins, Chip (August 25, 2007). "The veer: Houston coach rode his offense to Hall of Fame". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-60239-090-4. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ "Houston stuns Huskers 17–14". The Daily Reporter. United Press International. January 2, 1980. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ "Houston Football Coaches Accused of Paying Players". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. March 17, 1986. Retrieved February 2, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Legislative Services Database - LSDBi". web1.ncaa.org.
- ^ "NCAA comes down hard on Houston for violations". The Vindicator. Associated Press. December 17, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ "Hall of Honor Inductees". University of Houston. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ "The Lifetime Achievement Award". Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ Maisel, Ivan (August 12, 2020). "Hall of Fame football coach Bill Yeoman, innovator of veer formation, dies at 92". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2020.