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How does a legend get his start?
Just call him, Coach.
Before achieving legendary status, the youngest of three grew up in
Arizona during The Great Depression. In high school, he played football,
basketball, baseball, tennis, and ran track—lettering in all five.
His dad asked him what he wanted to be? He replied, “A football coach.”
His dad’s reply, “No, you don’t.”
Little did his father know that one day
the world of college football would
consider his son a legend.
For one year, he was an Aggie. He played football and basketball for Texas A&M University.
Then, West Point called. He graduated in 1950. His first assignment as a U.S. Army officer, while overseas in Germany, was to coach the football team. After Germany came Michigan State, where he served
as an assistant coach for seven years.
Then, he got the call from UH-. He was
head football coach for twenty-five years.
And the rest is, well, UH history.
The University of Houston Magazine had
a conversation with Coach Bill Yeoman. Your coaching philosophy?
Let God handle your life. And of course,
the veer offense, because everything is
about execution...we weren’t trying to fool anyone.
What did you try to instill in your players?
Work ethic…loyalty…nothing comes easy…
if you haven’t paid the price, it won’t happen…that’s the way life is…you got to work at it.
Why do you think UH was so successful during your coaching years?
At West Point, everything was for the good
of the school. It was about service. And, at UH, it was the same philosophy…it was a crusade. Everyone from our coaches to our professors to our players were here for the good of the University of Houston. We had committed players—tough, good kids who wanted to play ball.
Greatest achievement as a UH coach?
You just can’t have more fun than taking part in helping the university become nationally recognized in sports—from the basketball program going to the Final Four—four times; to Dave Williams’ Cougar golf program winning sixteen national championships; to our football team making four Cotton Bowl appearances in the first eight years.
You were the first coach in Texas to heavily recruit African American players. How do you feel about being the coach who broke the color barrier by signing such players as Warren McVea?
I didn’t care about a person’s color.
I needed players who wanted to play.
McVea was one such man—a super
young man with a great sense of
“people.” I was interested in getting players to represent the University of Houston and ones who could win. I could have cared less about the color of their skin.
It’s what’s inside that counts.
Why are you still at UH?
I’m still having a good time. I’ve had
more fun going through this world than
any person should. [Today, Yeoman
works as a fundraiser for UH’s athletics department.]
Greatest personal achievement?
Talking my wife into marrying me. …
All the other stuff comes second.
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The Yeoman Legacy
• Winningest football coach in UH history
• Coached 46 All-America and 69 NFL players
• 160 wins including 4 Southwest Conference championships
• 11 bowl appearances
• 1976 and 1979 teams finished among the top 5 in the nation
• 1976: Texas Coach of the Year; runner-up for National
Coach of the Year
• 2001: College Football Hall of Fame
• 2003: Texas Sports Hall of Fame
• Revolutionized the sport with innovative veer offense |
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