Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of the University of Alabama football team from 1958 to 1982. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and 13 conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for the most wins (323) as a head coach in collegiate football history. The Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Hall, Paul W. Bryant Drive, and Bryant–Denny Stadium are all named in his honor at the University of Alabama. He was also known for his trademark black and white houndstooth hat, even though he normally wore a plaid one, deep voice, casually leaning up against the goal post during pre-game warmups, and holding his rolled-up game plan while on the sidelines. Before arriving at Alabama, Bryant was head football coach at the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University.
John David Crow Sr. was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 as a halfback playing for the Texas A&M Aggies. After college, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers from 1958 to 1968.
Walter Ray Perkins was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including stints as the head coach for the New York Giants, the University of Alabama, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arkansas State University.
Christopher Scott Petersen is an American former college football coach. He was the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University; Petersen guided the Broncos to two BCS bowl wins in the 2007 and 2010 Fiesta Bowls. He is the first two-time winner of the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, which he won in 2006 and 2009. Petersen also won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award in 2010. At the University of Washington, Petersen led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff in 2016, but fell to Alabama in the Peach Bowl. Petersen announced his resignation on December 2, 2019, effective after the team's bowl game.
Jerry David Claiborne was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech (1961–1970), the University of Maryland, College Park (1972–1981), and his alma mater, the University of Kentucky (1982–1989), compiling a career head coaching record of 179–122–8 (.592). Claiborne was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.
Michael Lynn DuBose is an American football coach, most recently serving for Opp High School in Opp, Alabama. His most recent college coaching experience was serving as defensive line coach for the University of Memphis. DuBose came to Memphis from Millsaps College, where he was the Majors' head coach from 2006 to 2009. He resurrected the school's struggling football program by winning outright or sharing a conference title in each of his four seasons there. DuBose is best known for his four-year stint as the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of Alabama, where he led the Crimson Tide to an SEC championship in 1999.
Patrick Lee Trammell was an American college football player. He played quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1958 to 1961. In his senior season, he led the 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide football team to a perfect record of 11–0 and the national championship, and finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. A third-generation physician, he lost a six-month battle with metastatic testicular cancer at age 28, shortly after earning his medical degree.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team is currently led by Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history. Since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 18 national championships, including 13 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national titles with the program. Alabama then had a dominant run under head coach Nick Saban between 2007 and 2023, resulting in six further national titles.
The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats play their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky and are led by head coach Mark Stoops.
The Bryant Bulldogs football program represents Bryant University in college football. As of the upcoming 2023 season, the Bulldogs are members of the Big South–OVC Football Association, a football-only alliance between the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference that is part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The team has played its home games at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island, which opened in 1999 as Bulldog Stadium and received its current name in 2016.
John Ayers Merritt was an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Jackson State University from 1952 to 1962 and Tennessee State University from 1963 to 1983, compiling a career coaching record of 235–70–12. Merritt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
John Mitchell Jr. is a former American football coach and collegiate player. Over the course of his career, Mitchell has broken several racial barriers, one of which was being the first black player for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He served on the staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1994 until his retirement following the 2022 season.
Merritt James Norvell III is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Colorado State University, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Norvell served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Reno from 2017 to 2021. His father, Merritt Norvell, was the athletic director at Michigan State University from 1995 to 1998.
Henry Gorham Crisp was an American football, basketball, baseball and track coach and college athletics administrator. In spite of an accident when he was 13 years old that resulted in the loss of his right hand, Crisp went on to letter in football, basketball and track at both Hampden–Sydney College and Virginia Tech – then known primarily as VPI.
The 2019 Bryant Bulldogs football team represents Bryant University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by first-year head coach Chris Merritt and play their home games at Beirne Stadium. They are a member of the Northeast Conference.
The 1973 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season. In their 11th season under head coach John Merritt, the Tigers compiled a 10–0 record and outscored all opponents by a total of 333 to 87. The team was also recognized as the 1973 black college national champion and was ranked No. 1 in the final 1973 NCAA College Division football rankings issued by both the Associated Press and the United Press International.
The 2020 Bryant Bulldogs football team represented Bryant University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Chris Merritt and played their home games at Beirne Stadium. They played as a member of the Northeast Conference.
The 2021 Bryant Bulldogs football team represented Bryant University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Chris Merritt, played their home games at Beirne Stadium.
The 2022 Bryant Bulldogs football team represented Bryant University as first-year members of the Big South Conference in the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Chris Merritt, played their home games at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
