Jack Lengyel
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Jack Lengyel was the head coach of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team from 1971 until 1974.
He took over after head coach Rick Tolley was killed along with most of the Marshall coaches and players in the Southern Airlines Flight 932 plane crash. When Lengyel arrived at Marshall he was forced to recruit athletes from other sports (baseball, basketball and soccer) as well as allow a large number of walk-on's in order to rebuild the devastated football program. Although the team struggled in Lengyel's first season at the helm, it managed to win a stunning 15-13 victory over Xavier University (Cincinnati), scoring a touchdown on the final play of the game.
His overall record at Marshall as the head coach was 9-33.
He was also the Athletics Director at the United States Naval Academy for 13 years, before retiring in 2001. He received the 2005 John L. Toner Award from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame for his service at Navy. He has also been the athletic director at University of Louisville (1978-80), University of Missouri (1980-83 and 1986-88) and Fresno State University (1983-86). Since retiring from Navy in 2001, he has also been the interim director of athletics at Temple University, Eastern Kentucky University, and most recently, University of Colorado.
We Are Marshall (Motion Picture)
Lengyel will be portrayed by actor Matthew McConnaughey in the film We Are Marshall, scheduled for release in December 2006.
Lengyel served many years on the Board of Trustees at the United States Sports Academy (www.ussa.edu).
External Links
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