Robert Neyland
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Robert Reese Neyland (February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football coach and also served the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of General.
He was born in Greenville, Texas and was appointed to West Point by Congressman Sam Rayburn, graduating in 1916. He was a football and baseball star during his time there. He was commissioned as an officer in the Corps of Engineers and served in France during World War I. After the war he served as an aide to Douglas MacArthur, then superintendent at West Point, and became an assistant football coach.
Wanting to continue coaching, he became Professor of Military Science at the University of Tennessee. He became head coach of the Volunteers in 1926. He coached the team for nine years before being called to military service for one year in Panama. He then retired from the military in favor of coaching and returned to Tennessee.
He coached unbeaten Volunteer teams in 1938 and 1939, before being recalled to military service again in 1941. He retired from military service a second time, in 1946, with the rank of brigadier general, and again returned to the Volunteers as coach through 1952. He led them to a national championship in 1951. He then served as athletic director at the university until his death.
He remains the all-time winningest coach in Volunteer history with 173 wins in 213 games, 6 Southeastern Conference championships, and 4 national championships. Neyland Stadium, the stadium at the University of Tennessee is named in his honor, but he also designed it. The design included all expansions that have brought the stadium to its modern size.
General Neyland was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (as a coach) in 1956.
He is also famous for composing the "7 Maxims of Football."
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[edit] Playing career and education
Neyland played a year at Texas A&M before receiving an appointment to West Point, where he starred in several sports including baseball. The New York Giants offered him a $3,500 contract, which he turned down. Instead, Neyland served briefly overseas in World War I, returning to get his engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then moving to West Point as aide-de-camp to Superintendent Douglas MacArthur.
[edit] Family
On July 16, 1923, Neyland married Ada "Peggy" Fitch of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They had met while she was visiting friends at the Academy. They had two sons, Robert, Jr., born February 11, 1930, and Lewis, born December 6, 1933.
[edit] Neyland Scholarship
Several months prior to his death, General Neyland began working on a plan for supporters of UT athletic teams to show their interest in UT's academic programs by offering scholarships to attract outstanding student scholars to the University. General Neyland himself was an outstanding scholar, as well as an athlete during his college days at West Point. It was the General's dream that the University offer four-year academic merit scholarships to students who possessed outstanding academic and leadership qualities.
Following Neyland's death, Dr. Andrew D. Holt, then UT president, announced that a nationwide campaign would be launched to raise a minimum of $100,000 to establish the Robert R. Neyland Scholarship Fund. In October 1962, at half-time of the UT vs. Alabama game, 165 women representing UT's sororities collected more than $10,000 in a 15-minute time period at Neyland Stadium to launch the effort. By the end of fall 1962, more than $65,000 had been committed to the Neyland Scholarship fund. In the spring of 1963, a decision was made that proceeds from the annual Orange and White spring football game would go to help build the Neyland Scholarship Fund.
The first Neyland Scholarships were awarded in 1963. The first two recipients were Melissa Ann Baker of Maryville, Tennessee (now Mrs. Ann Baker Furrow, a former member of the UT Board of Trustees) and Mr. Robert English Allen of Columbia, Tennessee. Neyland History page
[edit] Head coaching record
| TEAM | YEAR (Conference Championships) (Bowl Game) | WINS | LOSSES | TIES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1926 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1927 (Southern Conference Champions) | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1928 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1929 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1930 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1931 (New York Charity Game) | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1932 (Southern Conference Champions) | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1933 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1934 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1936 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 1937 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1938 (National Champions, SEC Champions, Orange Bowl) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1939 (SEC Champions, Rose Bowl) | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1940 (National Champions, SEC Champions, Sugar Bowl) | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1946 (SEC Champions, Orange Bowl) | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1947 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1948 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 1949 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1950 (National Champions, Cotton Bowl) | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1951 (National Champions, SEC Champions, Sugar Bowl) | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1952 (Cotton Bowl) | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| CAREER TOTAL | 21 years, 4 National Championships, 7 SEC Championships | 173 | 31 | 12 |
[edit] Seven Maxims of Football
- The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
- Play for and make the breaks and when one comes your way - SCORE.
- If at first the game - or the breaks - go against you, don't let up... put on more steam.
- Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead and our ball game.
- Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle... for this is the WINNING EDGE.
- Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
- Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes.
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| Preceded by M.B. Banks |
University of Tennessee Head Football Coach 1926– 1934 |
Succeeded by W.H. Britton |
| Preceded by W.H. Britton |
University of Tennessee Head Football Coach 1936– 1940 |
Succeeded by John Barnhill |
| Preceded by John Barnhill |
University of Tennessee Head Football Coach 1946– 1952 |
Succeeded by Harvey Robinson |
