Al Conover is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach. Most notably, he served as head coach at Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 from 1972 to 1975, compiling a record of 15–27–2 in four seasons before resigning to enter private business.

A native of Largo, Florida

Largo, Florida

Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, USA and is part of the Tampa Bay Area. Centrally located, it is the crossroads of the county. As of the 2000 census, the City had a total population of 69,371. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was...

, Conover attented Largo High School, where he starred on the football squad and earned an athletic scholarship

Athletic scholarship

An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...

 to Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

. He spent four years on the Demon Deacon

Wake Forest Demon Deacons football

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field....

 squad, protecting quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 Norm Snead

Norm Snead

Norman Bailey Snead is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for Wake Forest University and was drafted in the first round of...

 as tackle under coaches Paul Amen

Paul Amen

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 and Billy Hildebrand

Billy Hildebrand

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. Returning to Largo after graduation, he served as his alma mater's head swimming coach and assistant football mentor.

In 1963, he was hired as a graduate assistant by Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 head coach Bill Peterson

Bill Peterson

William E. "Bill" Peterson was an American football coach. His career included head coaching stops at Florida State, Rice University and with the Houston Oilers. Considered one of the unique characters in college sports, Peterson is credited with bringing the pro passing game to college football...

, and later became offensive line coach. After helping the Seminoles to a Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

 appearance in 1967, Conover was hired by Y. C. McNease at Idaho

University of Idaho

The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...

. When Peterson moved on to Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 in 1971, he hired Conover as offensive coordinator

Offensive coordinator

An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

. Peterson left for the Houston Oilers one season later, and Conover was selected as his successor.

In his first year as Rice head coach, he guided the Owls to a 5–5–1 record, the program's best since 1963. Known for his flamboyance, he brought a coffin

Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...

onto the practice field to "bury" the Owls' mistakes during the 1973 season. Following a 3–8 season in 1975, Conover resigned to enter private business.