Frank Beamer

Frank Beamer

Beamer at age 59
Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	(1946-10-18) October 18, 1946 Mount Airy, North Carolina
Alma mater	Virginia Tech
Playing career
1966–1968	Virginia Tech
Position(s)	Cornerback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1972	Maryland (GA)
1973–1976	The Citadel (DL)
1977–1978	The Citadel (DC)
1979–1980	Murray State (DC)
1981–1986	Murray State
1987–2015	Virginia Tech
2016–present	Virginia Tech (Special Assistant to the Athletic Director) [1]
Head coaching record
Overall	280–143–4
Bowls	10–12
Tournaments	0–1 (NCAA D-I-AA playoffs)
Statistics College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 OVC (1986) 3 Big East (1995–1996, 1999) 4 ACC (2004, 2007–2008, 2010) 5 ACC Coastal Division (2005, 2007–2008, 2010–2011)
Awards
AFCA Coach of the Year (1999) Associated Press Coach of the Year (1999) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (1999) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1999) George Munger Award (1999) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1999) Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (1999) Joseph V. Paterno Coach of the Year Award (2010)[2] 3x Big East Coach of the Year (1995–1996, 1999) 2x ACC Coach of the Year (2004–2005)

Frank Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player.^[3] Beamer was a cornerback for Virginia Tech from 1966 to 1968. His coaching experience began in 1972, and from 1981 to 1986 Beamer served as the head football coach at Murray State University. He then went on to become the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 1987 until his final game in 2015. He was one of the longest tenured active coaches in NCAA Division I FBS and, at the time of his retirement, was the winningest active coach at that level. Beamer remains at Virginia Tech in the position of special assistant to the athletic director, where he focuses on athletic development and advancement.^[4]

Early Life and Playing Career

Beamer was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina,^[5] grew up on a farm in Fancy Gap, Virginia, went to high school in Hillsville, Virginia, and 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 three years on the football team, playing in the 1966 and 1968 Liberty Bowls. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1969 and attended Radford University for graduate school while serving as an assistant football coach at Radford High School.

Beamer is a direct descendant of Floyd Allen and the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia, who fired rounds at the county courthouse in a spasm of violence in 1912 that left five people dead, including the judge, a prosecutor, and the county sheriff.^[6]

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 bristles were still smoldering. A spark ignited a nearby can of gasoline, which 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 his shoulders, chest, and the right side of his neck. He underwent dozens of skin graft procedures that left him with permanent scarring.^[7]

Coaching career

Beamer began as an assistant at Radford High School from 1969 through 1971. His college coaching experience began in 1972, when he became 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, 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 compiled a record of 42–23–2 (.642) in six years. On December 22, 1986, Beamer was hired as the head coach at Virginia Tech. Beamer was to replace Bill Dooley, whose nine-year tenure was the most successful in terms of total wins and winning percentage in school history. However, he had been forced to resign due to numerous NCAA violations. Beamer signed a four-year contract worth $80,000 annually. Virginia Tech's new athletic director, Dale Baughman, who was hired to replace Dooley in that capacity, received criticism for hiring Beamer. "Some people have questioned this decision because he is not a big name," Baughman said at the time. "But it's a sound decision, and I'm standing by it."^[8]

Beamer took over a Virginia Tech football program that had reached only six bowl games to that point, three of which were under Dooley. He spent his first few seasons laboring under scholarship reductions imposed by the NCAA due to violations under Dooley; the Hokies were limited to 85 total scholarships in 1988 and 1989, and 17 initial scholarships in 1989. Beamer has since built the Hokies into a perennially ranked team. In 29 years at the helm of VT, his overall record was 238–121–2 (.663). His teams went to postseason play after every season from 1993 until his retirement in 2015; the 23 consecutive bowl-appearance streak was the longest in the nation as of 2015.^[9] He owns all but one of the Hokies' 10-win seasons, and all of their 11-win seasons.

During Beamer's tenure at Virginia Tech, the program evolved from independent status to a member of the Big East Conference to a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. His teams won three Big East championships and four ACC titles. Beamer was named the Big East Coach of the Year three times, in 1995, 1996, and 1999.

In 1999, Beamer led Virginia Tech to arguably the greatest season in school history. The Hokies, helmed by freshman quarterback Michael Vick, went undefeated in the regular season and appeared in the Sugar Bowl, where they lost a bid for the national championship to Florida State. Despite the national title game loss, Beamer won several coach of the year awards. Beamer was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2004, his first year competing in the conference. 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. His team was also given the Fall Sportsmanship Award in its inaugural season in the ACC.^[10]

On November 1, 2015, Beamer announced his retirement from coaching at the end of the 2015 season which concluded with a 55-52 win over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl on December 26. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest active coach in Division I FBS with 280 career victories.^[11] and is the sixth winningest coach in history at the Division I FBS level.^[12] Memphis' Justin Fuente replaced Beamer as the head football coach at Virginia Tech.^[13]

February 4, 2016 was declared "Frank Beamer Day" in the Commonwealth of Virginia by Governor Terry McAuliffe. In a ceremony on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol in front of a crowd of Virginia Tech students, faculty, and alumni— including his wife Cheryl Beamer and university President Timothy Sands— Governor McAuliffe presented Beamer with a framed certificate to honor his achievements as the head coach of the Virginia Tech football program.^[14]

Beamerball

Frank Beamer takes the field with the 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

During Beamer's tenure at Virginia Tech, putting points on the scoreboard has become a full team effort with the offensive, defensive and special teams units. Often when the team scores one or more non-offensive touchdowns, the style of play is described as "Beamerball". Since Beamer's first season in 1987, a player at every position on the defensive unit has scored at least one touchdown, and 35 different players have scored touchdowns on Virginia Tech's special teams.^[15]

Personal life

Fancy Gap, Virginia, Beamer's hometown, shows its pride in Beamer

Frank Beamer married his wife Cheryl (née Oakley) on April 1, 1972. The two met on a blind date, arranged by Cheryl's sister Sheila, while Frank Beamer was a senior at Virginia Tech.^[16] Together, they have two children, Shane and Casey. Shane played football at Virginia Tech and was a member of the 1999 team that advanced to the Sugar Bowl to play for the national championship. He served as the associate head coach and running backs coach alongside his father at Virginia Tech^[17] and currently serves as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Georgia.^[18]

In 2006, Frank Beamer and his wife Cheryl published the children's book Yea, It's a Hokie Game Day! under Virginia publisher Mascot Books, Inc..^[19]

After the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, Beamer was a powerful voice in the Blacksburg community, stating that the most important thing that the Virginia Tech and surrounding community could do was to disallow the act of violence to define the university. Beamer is quoted as saying, “We can’t let one person destroy what goes on here every day, the caring, the thoughtfulness. We can’t let one person destroy that.”

Head Coaching Record

^[20]

See also

• List of college football coaches with 200 wins

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Beamer.

• Virginia Tech profile
• Frank Beamer at the College Football Data Warehouse