Bobby Wallace (American football)
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | North Alabama |
| Conference | Gulf South |
| Record | 115–49-1 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 17, 1954 Magnolia, Arkansas |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1976 | Mississippi State (GA) |
| 1977–1979 | East Carolina (DB) |
| 1980 | Wyoming (DB) |
| 1981–1985 | Auburn (DB) |
| 1986 | Mississippi State (DC) |
| 1987 | Illinois (DB) |
| 1988–1997 | North Alabama |
| 1998–2005 | Temple |
| 2006–2010 | West Alabama |
| 2012–present | North Alabama |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 160–150–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 NCAA D-II (1993, 1994, 1995) | |
| Records | |
| Most wins in GSC history (141) Most wins in UNA history (115) | |
Robert Hue "Bobby" Wallace (born September 17, 1954) is the current head college football coach for the University of North Alabama. During his time as a head coach he served at North Alabama, Temple and West Alabama. He is most noted for leading North Alabama to three consecutive NCAA Division II National Football Championships between 1993–1995.
Playing career
Wallace was a starting safety at Mississippi State for two years and was an undisputed team leader. He played smart and covered the whole field in a manner that allowed him to outperform others with greater size and or speed and was considered by his teammates to be a "tough" competitor.
Coaching career
Assistant coaching career
Wallace started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State University in 1976. The following season, he joined Hall of Fame coach Pat Dye's staff at East Carolina to coach defensive backs. He followed Dye to Wyoming and Auburn, before returning to his alma-mater Mississippi State as defensive coordinator. During his tenure at Auburn, Wallace was noted for recruiting standout running back Bo Jackson.[1] In 1987, he coached defensive backs at Illinois.
University of North Alabama
Bobby Wallace's career as a head coach began in 1988 when he was named head coach at the University of North Alabama (UNA) in Florence, Alabama. He compiled a record of 82–36–1 in 10 seasons (1988–1997) at UNA, leading the Lions to three consecutive Division II national championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995. During those three seasons, the Lions recorded an overall record of 41–1, losing only to the eventual Division I-AA national champion Youngstown State in 1994. The 1995 UNA team was named the "Best Team of the Quarter Century" in Division II.
Wallace's UNA teams also won three consecutive Gulf South Conference championships (1993–1995), qualified for the Division II playoffs six times, and sent 12 players to the National Football League (NFL). In 1995, Lions linebacker Ronald McKinnon became the first and, as of 2010, only defensive player to win the Division II Harlon Hill Trophy.[1] He resigned at UNA following the 1997 season to become the head coach at Temple University.
Temple University
Wallace became the 23rd head coach at Temple University on December 23, 1997. He coached the Owls for eight seasons, compiling a record of 19–71. Although his first team at Temple finished 2–9, one of the wins became arguably one of the biggest upsets in college football history. On October 17, 1998, the 0–6 Owls traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia to play the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Owls overcame a 17–0 deficit and numerous injuries to upset the Hokies 28–24. The win gave the Owls their first ever Big East road win, and their first win over a ranked opponent in 11 years. Two weeks later, the Owls won again in improbable fashion, this time overcoming a 20–0 deficit to defeat Pittsburgh.[2]
Although his teams were consistently good defensively, none of Wallace's eight Temple teams had winning records. The Owls were winless during his final season in 2005, and played as a Division I-A independent after losing their Big East affiliation. During his tenure at Temple, Wallace had 12 players selected All-Big East. He also coached All-Americans Dan Klecko and Rian Wallace.
Return to UNA
On January 2, 2012, the University of North Alabama announced that Wallace would return as the Lions' ninth head football coach following the departure of Terry Bowden. On September 26, 2015, Wallace coached UNA to a school-record tying 109th career win over Florida Tech. On October 3, 2015 Wallace Became The Winningest Head Coach in UNA history notching his 110th win at UNA with a 34-12 victory over Valdosta State.[3] In 2015 Wallace led the Lions to their straight Gulf South Conference championship. It was the second time Wallace had led UNA to three consecutive conference titles and only the third time the feat had been accomplished in conference history.[4]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Alabama Lions (Gulf South Conference) (1988–1997) | |||||||||
| 1988 | North Alabama | 2–8 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 1989 | North Alabama | 6–5 | 4–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1990 | North Alabama | 8–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1991 | North Alabama | 3–7 | 1–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1992 | North Alabama | 7–4–1 | 2–2–1 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division II Second Round | ||||
| 1993 | North Alabama | 14–0 | 7–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1994 | North Alabama | 13–1 | 7–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1995 | North Alabama | 14–0 | 8–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1996 | North Alabama | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1997 | North Alabama | 9–3 | 6–2 | 3rd | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| Temple Owls (Big East Conference) (1998–2004) | |||||||||
| 1998 | Temple | 2–9 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1999 | Temple | 2–9 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2000 | Temple | 4–7 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
| 2001 | Temple | 4–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2002 | Temple | 4–8 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2003 | Temple | 1–11 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| 2004 | Temple | 2–9 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
| Temple Owls (NCAA Division I-A Independent) (2005) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Temple | 0–11 | |||||||
| Temple: | 19–71 | 10–39 | |||||||
| West Alabama Tigers (Gulf South Conference) (2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006 | West Alabama | 6–5 | 3–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2007 | West Alabama | 1–9 | 0–8 | 11th | |||||
| 2008 | West Alabama | 4–7 | 2–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 2009 | West Alabama | 8–5 | 5–3 | T–3rd | L NCAA Division II Second Round | ||||
| 2010 | West Alabama | 7–4 | 5–3 | 5th | |||||
| West Alabama: | 26–30 | 15–25 | |||||||
| North Alabama Lions (Gulf South Conference) (2012–present) | |||||||||
| 2012 | North Alabama | 5–5 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2013 | North Alabama | 10–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2014 | North Alabama | 9–2 | 6–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 2015 | North Alabama | 9–3 | 6–1 | T-1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| North Alabama: | 115–49–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 160–150–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- ^ a b "Official University of West Alabama Biography". UWA.
- ^ "Temple University 2007 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Temple. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ http://www.timesdaily.com/multimedia/una-defeats-valdosta-state---and-bobby-wallace-wins/video_5475ddb4-6a1b-11e5-99d7-637be95208dd.html
- ^ http://whnt.com/2015/11/14/north-alabama-wins-share-of-gulf-south-conference-title/