Tony Severino is American former high school football coach. He served as the head football coach at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri from 1983 to 2019. He has won the most games as a head coach in Rockhurst High School football history. Severino's seven state titles are a state record which include five undefeated seasons. Severino is the only coach to win state titles in both Missouri and Kansas. [1]
In 2019, the field at Rockhurst High School’s Vincent P. Dasta Memorial Stadium was named Severino Field in his honor.
Severino was raised in Euclid, Ohio, where he attended Cathedral Latin, an all-boys Catholic high school. [2]
Severino played college football at Kansas State University, where he met his wife, Marilyn. Marilyn's desire to stay in Kansas soon kept him anchored in the state. [2]
Before coaching at Rockhurst, Severino was a head coach at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School where he won a state title. [1] [2]
After hearing about the job opening at Rockhurst High School, Severino waited an hour to inquire about the vacancy at school before he was told he got the job. [2] Severino's first season with Rockhurst was in 1983 and the Hawklets won the state title that season. [3] Severino was offered a coaching position on the Kansas Jayhawks coaching staff in 1985 but turned down the offer. [2]
During the course of his coaching career, Severino led Rockhurst to the state championship ten times, winning seven of those. He won state titles in 1983, 1986, 1987, 2000, 2002, 2007, and 2010. [3] In 2011, Severino coached the West Squad in the U.S Army All-American Bowl. [1] In 2018, Severino was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. [4] [5] [6]
Leonard Ray Dawson was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. After playing college football at Purdue, Dawson began his professional career with the NFL in 1957, spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two with the Cleveland Browns. He left the NFL in 1962 to sign with the AFL's Chiefs, where he spent the last 14 seasons of his career, and rejoined the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger.
Rockhurst High School is a private, Jesuit, all-boys preparatory school founded in 1910 along with Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It moved away from the College in 1962 to a campus on State Line Road in Kansas City.
William D. Snyder is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the position from 2006 to 2008 before being rehired. Snyder retired for the second time on December 2, 2018, and is serving as a special ambassador for the athletics department.
Willie Edward Lanier, is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) from 1967 through 1977. He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the AFL All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being selected to the Pro Bowl from 1970 through 1975.
Bobby Lee Bell Sr. is an American former football linebacker and defensive end who played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Chiefs' team that won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings.
Donald Earl James was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Kent State University from 1971 to 1974 and at the University of Washington from 1975 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 178–76–3 (.698).
Richard Albert Vermeil is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Louis Rams for three, and the Kansas City Chiefs for five. Prior to the NFL, he was the head football coach at Hillsdale High School from 1960 to 1962, Napa Junior College in 1964, and UCLA from 1974 to 1975. With UCLA, Vermeil led the team to victory in the 1976 Rose Bowl. Vermeil's NFL tenure would see him improve the fortunes of teams that had a losing record before he arrived and bring them all to the playoffs by his third season, which included a Super Bowl title with the Rams.
Brad Edward Budde is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Budde played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was a unanimous All-American and the winner of the Lombardi Award. He was a first-round pick in the 1980 NFL draft, and played professionally for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
The Missouri Tigers football program represents the University of Missouri in college football and competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
North Texas Mean Green represents the University of North Texas (UNT) in intercollegiate athletics. The teams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). North Texas competed in the Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023. UNT's official school colors are Green and White. North Texas' mascot is an Eagle named Scrappy.
The Rockhurst Hawklets football team is one of the most successful high school football programs in Missouri. The team is composed of students from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri and has made the most state championship appearances of any school in Missouri. Their main rivals are Blue Springs High School, Bishop Meige High School, Shawnee Mission East High School, and CBC.
Harold Edward "Bud" Elliott was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas (1964–1968), Washburn University (1969–1970), Kansas State Teachers College—now known as Emporia State University (1971–1973), the University of Texas at Arlington (1974–1983), Northwest Missouri State University (1988–1993), and Eastern New Mexico University (1994–2004), compiling a career college football record of 205–179–9. Elliott won more games than any other head coach in the history of Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds football program. He coached football at high school and collegiate levels for over 40 years. In his last season of coaching in 2004, Elliott became the 46th head coach in NCAA football history to reach 200 wins. At the time of his retirement, he ranked third in victories among active NCAA Division II coaches.
Francis George Welch was an American football player and coach, track and field coach, and college athletics administrator. He was of the first three coaches to be selected for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Track and Field Hall of Fame and is a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Tim Johnson is an American football coach and former player. He played high school football at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, and college football at William Jewell College from 1981 to 1984. He was an All-American linebacker and Academic All-American. He was inducted into the William Jewell College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Johnson also played in Finland and later coached in Europe as well.
Nathan Scheelhaase is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive assistant and passing game specialist for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Iowa State University in 2023.
Bruce Polen is a former American football player and coach. He was the tenth head football coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, serving for two seasons, from 1982 until 1983, compiling a record of 13–6.
The Benedictine Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Benedictine College, located in Atchison, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Ravens previously competed as an NAIA Independent from 1962–63 to 1990–91; in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIC) from 1937–38 to 1961–62; as an Independent from January 1929 to 1936–37; and in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1927–28.
This timeline of college football in Kansas sets forth notable college football-related events that occurred in the state of Kansas.
William Albert "Thunder" Thornton was an American football fullback who played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers (1960–1962) and professional football for the St. Louis Cardinals. Thornton also coached at University of Nebraska, University of Missouri, and the St. Louis Football Cardinals.
Walter R. Shublom was a former high school, junior college and college basketball coach, and minor league baseball player. He was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 1982.