Ken Hatfield
Encyclopedia
Ken Hatfield is a former American football
player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy
(1979–1983), the University of Arkansas
(1984–1989), Clemson University
(1990–1993), and Rice University
(1994–2005), compiling a career college football
record of 168–140–4.
, where he starred at defensive back
for the 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football team that won a share of the national championship
. Among his teammates were such pro football luminaries as Jimmy Johnson
and Jerry Jones
. He is a member of the Sigma Chi
Fraternity
.
from 1979 to 1983. He gradually rebuilt a program that had struggled through most of the 1970s and laid the foundation for its success in the 1980s and early 1990s under his offensive coordinator
and successor, Fisher DeBerry
. Hatfield then moved to his alma mater, Arkansas, where he compiled a 55–17–1 from 1984 to 1989. His teams two straight Southwest Conference titles in 1988 and 1989, a feat that the Razorbacks had not accomplished since his playing days. In 1989, Hatfield became the first former player to coach his alma mater in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas's Southwest Conference championship that season is the program's last conference title to date.
Hatfield had a somewhat frosty relationship with longtime Arkansas athletic director
Frank Broyles
, even though Broyles had been his coach during his playing days. Broyles had a reputation for being very hands-on with the football program he had built into a national power as head coach from 1958 to 1976. As good as Hatfield's last two Razorback teams had been, he lost several recruits after 1987 when rival coaches claimed he was in Broyles' doghouse.(needs citation) When Broyles signed a new five-year contract in early 1990, Hatfield left for Clemson University
without even visiting the campus. Ironically, the coach Hatfield succeeded at Clemson, Danny Ford
, would eventually become the Razorbacks' coach in 1993.
Hatfield coached at Clemson from 1990–1993, compiling a 32–13–1 record. In his second year at Clemson, he won the school's last Atlantic Coast Conference
title to date. He also worked to clean up the program's image; the Tigers had been slapped with probation for NCAA violations under Ford. However, Hatfield was never really accepted by Clemson's fans. A common saying among Tiger fans during this time was "Howard built it. Ford tilled it. Hatfield killed it."
Largely due to this discontent, school officials refused to grant him a one-year extension on his contract after the 1993 season, even though the Tigers had rebounded from 5–6 in 1992 to a solid 8–3 record that year. Angered at what he saw as a lack of support, Hatfield resigned at the end of the regular season.
Soon afterward, Hatfield was hired at Rice University
, where he compiled a 55–78–1 record before resigning on November 30, 2005 following a 1–10 season. He only had three winning seasons in 12 years. Although the Owls were bowl-eligible in those three winning seasons, they weren't invited to a bowl in part because of the school's small alumni and fan base; Rice is the second-smallest school in Division I FBS and is a private school known for their high academic standards, which can explain why Hatfield wasn't as successful at Rice as he was in his previous jobs. In his first year, despite a losing overall record, he managed to lead the Owls to a share of the SWC title.
One of the few remaining proponents of the conservative triple-option offense
in college football
, Hatfield compiled a 168–140–4 record as a head coach.
Some of the notable players that he helped coach include
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. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
(1979–1983), the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
(1984–1989), Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
(1990–1993), and 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...
(1994–2005), compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 168–140–4.
Playing career
Hatfield is a graduate of the University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, where he starred at defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
for the 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football team that won a share of the national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
. Among his teammates were such pro football luminaries as Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William "Jimmy" Johnson is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a...
and Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones
Jerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.-Early life:Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School...
. He is a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
.
Coaching career
Hatfield began his college head coaching career at the United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
from 1979 to 1983. He gradually rebuilt a program that had struggled through most of the 1970s and laid the foundation for its success in the 1980s and early 1990s under his 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...
and successor, Fisher DeBerry
Fisher DeBerry
Fisher DeBerry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, compiling a record of 169–109–1. DeBerry led 17 of his 23 Air Force Falcons squads to winning records and 12 captured a bowl...
. Hatfield then moved to his alma mater, Arkansas, where he compiled a 55–17–1 from 1984 to 1989. His teams two straight Southwest Conference titles in 1988 and 1989, a feat that the Razorbacks had not accomplished since his playing days. In 1989, Hatfield became the first former player to coach his alma mater in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas's Southwest Conference championship that season is the program's last conference title to date.
Hatfield had a somewhat frosty relationship with longtime Arkansas athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Frank Broyles
Frank Broyles
John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...
, even though Broyles had been his coach during his playing days. Broyles had a reputation for being very hands-on with the football program he had built into a national power as head coach from 1958 to 1976. As good as Hatfield's last two Razorback teams had been, he lost several recruits after 1987 when rival coaches claimed he was in Broyles' doghouse.(needs citation) When Broyles signed a new five-year contract in early 1990, Hatfield left for Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
without even visiting the campus. Ironically, the coach Hatfield succeeded at Clemson, Danny Ford
Danny Ford
Danny Lee Ford is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Alabama from 1967 to 1969. He served as the head football coach at Clemson University in South Carolina from 1978 to 1989 and at the University of Arkansas from 1993 to 1997, compiling...
, would eventually become the Razorbacks' coach in 1993.
Hatfield coached at Clemson from 1990–1993, compiling a 32–13–1 record. In his second year at Clemson, he won the school's last Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
title to date. He also worked to clean up the program's image; the Tigers had been slapped with probation for NCAA violations under Ford. However, Hatfield was never really accepted by Clemson's fans. A common saying among Tiger fans during this time was "Howard built it. Ford tilled it. Hatfield killed it."
Largely due to this discontent, school officials refused to grant him a one-year extension on his contract after the 1993 season, even though the Tigers had rebounded from 5–6 in 1992 to a solid 8–3 record that year. Angered at what he saw as a lack of support, Hatfield resigned at the end of the regular season.
Soon afterward, Hatfield was hired 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...
, where he compiled a 55–78–1 record before resigning on November 30, 2005 following a 1–10 season. He only had three winning seasons in 12 years. Although the Owls were bowl-eligible in those three winning seasons, they weren't invited to a bowl in part because of the school's small alumni and fan base; Rice is the second-smallest school in Division I FBS and is a private school known for their high academic standards, which can explain why Hatfield wasn't as successful at Rice as he was in his previous jobs. In his first year, despite a losing overall record, he managed to lead the Owls to a share of the SWC title.
One of the few remaining proponents of the conservative triple-option offense
Option offense
The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such due to the predominance of option running plays employed in these schemes. Option offenses have traditionally relied heavily upon running...
in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, Hatfield compiled a 168–140–4 record as a head coach.
Some of the notable players that he helped coach include
- RB Barry Foster (1987-1989 at Arkansas)