Frank Beamer

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Frank Beamer
Date of birth October 18, 1946
Place of birth Mount Airy, North Carolina
Sport Football
College Virginia Tech
Title Head coach
Record with Team 146-79-2
Overall Record 188-102-4
Awards 9 Coach of the Year Awards (See Awards)
2004 Humanitarian Award
Championships
  won		 3 Big East Conference
(1995, 1996, 1999)
1 ACC Championship
(2004)
School as a player
1966-69 Virginia Tech
Position Cornerback
Coaching positions
1981-86
1987-present		 Murray State
Virginia Tech

Frank Beamer (b. October 18, 1946 in Mount Airy, North Carolina) is the current head coach of the Virginia Tech college football program.

Beamer grew up in Hillsville, Virginia where he earned 11 varsity letters in high school as a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. He then attended Virginia Tech and was a starting cornerback for 3 years on the football team, playing in the 1966 and 1968 Liberty Bowls. He graduated in 1969 and then attended Radford University for graduate school while serving as an assistant football coach at Radford High School.

Contents

[edit] Coaching

Beamer's college coaching experience began in 1972 as a graduate assistant for the University of Maryland, College Park. After one season, he became an assistant coach at The Citadel under Bobby Ross. He spent seven seasons at The Citadel, with the last two as the defensive coordinator. He moved on to become the defensive coordinator at Murray State University in 1979 under Mike Gottfried. After two seasons, he was promoted to Head Coach and spent six seasons as the Head Coach at Murray State, compiling a record of 42-23-2. In 1987, Beamer was hired as Head Coach at Virginia Tech.

Beamer took over a Hokies football program that was largely unsuccessful in its first century, reaching only six bowl games in that time span. Beamer built the Hokies into a perennially ranked team. In 19 years at the helm of VT, his overall record is 146-79-2. His teams have made 14 consecutive bowl appearances. During his tenure as coach, the program has evolved from independent status to a member of the Big East Conference to a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. His teams have won three Big East Championships and one ACC Championship.

He won Big East Coach of the Year awards in 1995, 1996, and 1999. In 1999, he won consensus National Coach of the Year honors when he led Virginia Tech to an undefeated regular season and appearance in the National Championship game against Florida State. Beamer was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2004, his first year competing in the league. He repeated as ACC Coach of the Year in 2005 while leading his team to the ACC Coastal Division title and an appearance in the inaugural ACC Championship game.

Beamer is married and has two children, Shane and Casey. Shane played football at Virginia Tech and was a member of the 1999 team that advanced to the National Championship. As of February 2007, Shane is the new special teams coach at the University of South Carolina.

[edit] Beamerball

During the 'Beamer Era' at Virginia Tech, putting points on the scoreboard has become a full team effort - offensive, defensive and special teams. Since his first season in 1987, a player at every position on the defensive unit has scored at least one touchdown. And at least 25 different players have scored touchdowns while on Tech's special teams.

[edit] The Scar

In 1954, when Beamer was seven years old, he used a push broom to help keep a pile of burning trash in place. When the job was done he returned the broom to the garage, not knowing that its brushes were still smoldering. A spark ignited a can of nearby gasoline, that exploded in front of him. His 11-year old brother, Barnett, saved him by rolling him around on the ground, but Frank was left with burns on the right side of his neck, chest and his shoulders. Over the next few years he endured dozens of painful skin grafts and was left with permanent scarring.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Notable players coached by Beamer

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Bill Dooley		 Virginia Tech Head Football Coach
1987–		 Succeeded by
Current
Preceded by
Bill Snyder		 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
1999		 Succeeded by
Bob Stoops
Preceded by
Bill Snyder		 Walter Camp Coach of the Year
1999		 Succeeded by
Bob Stoops
Current Head Football Coaches of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) | Bobby Bowden (FSU) | Tommy Bowden (Clemson) | Butch Davis (UNC) | Chan Gailey (Georgia Tech) | Jim Grobe (Wake Forest) | Al Groh (Virginia) | Jeff Jagodzinski (Boston College) | Ralph Friedgen (Maryland) | Tom O'Brien (NC State) | Ted Roof (Duke) | Randy Shannon (Miami)

Smyth • Massie • Jones • Firth • Ingles • Morrison • Davis • Morrison • Brown • Lueder • O'Connor • Miles • Williams • Brown • Bocock • Reiss • Ingersoll • Bernier • Sutton • Cubbage • Gustafson • Neale • Redd • Kitts • Tilson • McEver • McNeish • Learned • Moseley • Claiborne • Coffey • Sharpe • Dooley • Beamer

Virginia Tech Hokies Football Retired Jerseys
Vick • Beamer • Brown • Grove
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