Tony Knap

For the British footballer, see Tony Knapp.
Tony Knap
The Silver Fox - c. 1980
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born December 8, 1914(1914-12-08)
Place of birth Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died September 24, 2011(2011-09-24) (aged 96)
Place of death Pullman, Washington
Playing career
1936–1939 Idaho
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1940–194x
194x
1945–1949
1949–1958
1959–1962
1963–1966
1967
1968–1975
1976–1981		 Bonners Ferry HS (ID)
Lewiston HD (ID)
Potlatch HS (ID)
Pittsburg HS (CA)
Utah State (assistant)
Utah State
BC Lions (assistant)
Boise State
UNLV
Head coaching record
Overall 143–53–4 (college)
Bowls 1–0
Tournaments 1–3 (D-II playoffs)
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 Big Sky (1973–1975)

Anthony Joseph "Tony" Knap (December 8, 1914 – September 24, 2011) was a college football head coach and former player. He was the head coach at Utah State (1963–1966), Boise State (1968–1975), and UNLV (1976–1981), compiling a career college football record of 143–53–4.

Contents

Biography

The oldest son of Polish immigrants, Knap was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from high school in 1933. He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Idaho in 1936, and played four seasons of college football for the Vandals. After graduation in 1940, Knap became a high school teacher and coach in Bonners Ferry, and then spent a year at Lewiston High School. During World War II he served in the Navy, then returned to coaching after the war at Potlatch, Idaho, where he stayed until 1949.[1] He then moved to Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, California, and then became an assistant coach at Utah State in 1959 under new coach John Ralston.

Ralston left for Stanford after the 1962 season and Knap was promoted to head coach, where he compiled a 25–14–1 (.637) record in four seasons, from 1963 to 1966. After a season as an assistant with the BC Lions in 1967, he succeeded Lyle Smith as head coach at Boise State University in 1968, then still known as Boise College. Smith had just stepped down as head coach and as the athletic director, hired his former Vandal teammate. It was Boise's first year as an NAIA independent; it had previously competed in the junior college ranks. Two years later in 1970 the Broncos began play in the NCAA in Division II (then the "College Division") and the Big Sky Conference. Knap led the Broncos to a 71–19–1 (.788) record in eight years, including three ten-win seasons and three consecutive Big Sky titles (1973–1975).[2]

His success in Boise led him to Las Vegas in 1976, where he coached UNLV for six seasons and compiled a 47–20–2 record (.695), stepping down at age 67 after the 1981 season. UNLV made the Division II playoffs in his first season and moved up to Division I-A in 1978, his third season at the school. While Knap was head coach, the Rebels played as an independent; UNLV joined the PCAA the following season in 1982. He was inducted into UNLV's hall of fame in 1989.[3]

Personal

Knap met and married his wife, the former Mickey McFarland of Bonner's Ferry, during his first year as a teacher. They were wed in April 1941 and had three daughters: Jacqueline, Angeline, and Caroline.[4] Knap and his wife were married over 70 years when he died on September 24, 2011 at Bishop Place Retirement Center in Pullman, Washington; he had suffered from Alzheimer's disease.[5]

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Utah State Aggies (NCAA University Division Independent) (1963–1966)
1963 Utah State 8–2
1964 Utah State 5–4–1
1965 Utah State 8–2
1966 Utah State 4–6
Utah State: 25–14–1
Boise State Broncos (NAIA Independent) (1968–1969)
1968 Boise State 8–2
1969 Boise State 9–1
Boise State Broncos (Big Sky Conference) (1970–1975)
1970 Boise State 8–3 2–2 T–3rd
1971 Boise State 10–2 4–2 2nd W Camellia
1972 Boise State 7–4 3–3 T–3rd
1973 Boise State 10–3 6–0 1st L NCAA Division II Semifinal (Pioneer)
1974 Boise State 10–2 6–0 1st L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal
1975 Boise State 9–2–1 5–0–1 1st L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal
Boise State: 71–19–1 26–7–1
UNLV Rebels (NCAA Division II Independent) (1976–1977)
1976 UNLV 9–3 L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal
1977 UNLV 9–2
UNLV Rebels (NCAA Division I-A Independent) (1978–1981)
1978 UNLV 7–4
1979 UNLV 9–1–2
1980 UNLV 7–4
1981 UNLV 6–6
UNLV: 47–20–2
Total: 143–53–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title

References

  1. ^ "Anthony Joseph (Tony) Knap, 96". The Lewiston Tribune. September 29, 201. http://lmtribune.com/obituaries/article_25e3c321-05de-5db1-bd00-62f949963ab1.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
  2. ^ Bronco Bob (August 16, 2009). "The Story Of A Bronco Legend". BroncoCountry. Scout.com. http://boisestate.scout.com/2/884980.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
  3. ^ Anderson, Mark (January 30, 2011). "UNLV memories most vivid for Knap". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/unlv-memories-most-vivid-for-knap-114891659.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
  4. ^ shortsfuneralchapel.net - obituaries - Tony Knap - accessed 2011-11-18
  5. ^ Anderson, Mark (September 26, 2011). "Former UNLV football coach Tony Knap dies at 96". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/former-unlv-football-coach-tony-knap-dies-at-97-130580628.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 

External links