Coach Fred Akers
Hi Longhorn Nation
The Akers Family will be celebrating the life of Coach Fred Akers on January 12th at 11 am.
Please mark your calendars and make plans to join virtually. Due to the pandemic, attendance of the services will be held via Live Stream only. The website is https://www.clcaustin.com/fredakers/
Mrs. Akers is also asking for remarks regarding Coach Akers. All players/coaches who would like to make comments regarding Coach will do so by submitting a brief (10-15) second video. Details and video instructions for submission will be made available next week. We will send the instructions as soon as we receive them.
Please keep the Akers family in your prayers and stay tuned for additional details on next week.
Thanks and have a safe holiday.
Doug and Debra Shankle
Aker’s celebration of life is at
Coach Fred Akers has passed away
Updates 12/11/2020
12/8/2020 5:52:00 AM
ARLINGTON, Texas – The college football community and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic lost a special member of its gridiron family on Monday, Dec. 7 with the passing of former Texas head coach Fred Akers. He was 82.
Akers, inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2016, led the Longhorns to three Cotton Bowl Classics. In his 10 seasons at Texas, the Longhorns posted an 86-31-2 record and captured two Southwest Conference titles in 1977 and 1983. In each of those conference championship seasons Texas went 11-0 and landed in the Classic with a chance to win the national championship.
His Texas coaching resume is highlighted by six Associated Press Top 25 finishes that included four Top-10 rankings and two Top-5 finishes. He was 1-2-0 in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Akers knew what it took to be successful and constantly reminded his players that to win any game a full 60-minute effort was mandatory. This coaching axiom never rang truer than in the fourth quarter of the 1982 Classic.
Trailing 10-0 to third-ranked Alabama and coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, this never-give-up attitude produced a scoring play that will live forever in Cotton Bowl lore. After driving to the Crimson Tide 30, Akers called for the quarterback draw and Robert Brewer executed the play to perfection. Brewer surprised everyone in the stadium with a dash up the middle for the Longhorns’ first touchdown.
Texas rode the momentum of Brewers’ stunning run to produce another memorable scoring drive, this one covering 80 yards in 11 plays and clinched an unforgettable 14-12 victory. The touchdown came with just over two minutes to play. With the victory over Alabama, the Longhorns leaped to No. 2 in the final AP poll.
Amid the celebration in the winning locker room, the happy head coach exclaimed, “This game shows why you play four quarters of football!”
Rey Moreno shares a story about costing Akers dinner.
At a track meet Coach Akers boast he has the ability to determine a winner just by their appearance. After a few minutes of back and forth between coaches, Coach Akers and McWilliams make a bet on who can pick the most winners, loser must pay for dinner.
Before the start of the first race, Akers makes his pick. Coach Mc sees me shake my head and I signal to him to pick a different lane. (I had seen some of the runners during the year and knew the lane assignments of the faster runners). This continues for most of the races. Midway through the event Coach Mc is way ahead of Coach Akers. With each loss, the other coaches are just giving Akers a lot of grief.
It’s was hard for us students not to laugh out loud, but after a while, we could not control ourselves. Everyone was in a belly laugh except Akers. I left just before the mile relay to help break down the field. Everyone was still laughing when I left and Coach Mc gave me the thumbs-up sign.
ReyMoreno
Updates 12/10/2020
Akers ran some great teams — four top-10 teams and a pair of Southwest Conference champions in his 10 years, if we’re keeping score — but he helped create even better men.
“He was a better man than he was a coach, and that’s saying something because he was a great coach,” said former defensive tackle Tony Degrate, Texas’ 1984 Lombardi Award winner. “We always had a certain swagger on our team because he instilled confidence in us, but it was with humility. He never allowed us to talk trash to our opponents.”
Akers recruited all areas and touched them all, regardless of their background. A burly white kid from Dumas named Bryan Millard had his pick of colleges in the region but ended up signing with the Longhorns.
“A friend said to go to Texas and play for Akers,” Millard recalled. “He said they have the cool helmets and play for championships.”
Kirk Bohls
One of Akers’ final requests was for his ashes to be spread around the various stadiums where he coached and played.
At Edinburg High, where he became the youngest head coach in the state at age 24. At Lubbock High, from where Royal plucked Akers to join his staff upon the endorsement of Campbell, the man Royal wanted to succeed him.
Some of his ashes will also be scattered at Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium, where he launched his collegiate head coaching career and won the WAC with a team that had eight freshman starters, as well as at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium, where his career ended. And at Razorback Stadium, where he had an outstanding playing career.
And of course, at Royal-Memorial Stadium, where he spent 19 years of his life, gave every bit of himself and became one of the best football coaches in school history.
Kirk Bohls
My first year at UT in 1986 he was my coach. Wish I had the relationship that all the former players did before me. He was a class act. Hook’em and Godspeed Coach Akers!
Todd Smith
No words can describe how sorry I am for the loss of Coach Fred Akers. I am honored and blessed to have served as a member of his support staff. Please accept my deepest sympathy.
: Thanks to coach Akers I was able to get to know so many men like you who were what Coach wanted to recruit – good football players who were good people. I cherish the time spent with Coach and so many who have responded to his passing
It was a privilege to serve as producer/host of his show and an honor to call him friend.
Steve Ross
Coach Fred Akers is a true Texas Legend ! Condolences to you Lawrence,Your Teammates & The Longhorn Nation ! Thank You for sharing your Wonderful photos of Coach & the Texas Family ! God Bless you All in these difficult times . It was an Honor to spend time with Coach. Condolences
Jeff Madden
To all of my prayer warriors I’m asking you all to lift up the Ackers family. This man right here Coach Fred Ackers gave me an opportunity to attend The University of Texas at Austin and get an education, play the game I love ( Football), and run track. He took a chance on a 5’8 150lbs soaking wet Athlete back in 1979 to become a part of his team. He went on to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ December 7,2020 this picture was taken September 6,2019. I will miss him dearly, but I will always remember what He taught me and my teammates. “ Visualize what will happen in the game ( life) and it will appear.” Coach Ackers “ I Will See You Again In Heaven.”
Love you Coach Ackers
Hook’em Horns
Herkie Walls
Updates 12/09/2020
Photos from Lawrence Sampleton taken during 2018 and 2019
Coach Fred Akers was instrumental in shaping the lives of so many young men over the years, including mine.
We have lost a great man, coach, mentor and friend.
Lawrence Sampleton Jr.
Coach Akers was indeed a fine man. So many great memories and great photos! The celebration in 2019 for him was so special!!! His legacy will indeed live on! Prayers and blessings to all during this sad time.
Kathy Loden
Updates 12/08/2020
Fred Akers received one of the biggest honors of his life in one of the lowest moments of his life. Just more than a week after his son, Danny, died at age 54 of renal cell carcinoma, the former Texas head football coach was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Akers was one of the best Longhorns coaches in any sport that I’ve ever had the privilege of covering, but he’s never gotten his due. There’s no statue, no name on a football building for the Blytheville, Ark., native, who had to replace the legendary Darrell Royal without the support of all the DKR acolytes. Akers blew up at me regularly for my daily coverage of the beat, then treated me and every other reporter more professionally than any Texas football coach since. He was a man’s man who basically got a raw deal at Texas, being fired after one losing season. And he came within a win of two national championships.
Kirk Bohls
Click on link below
An innovator, motivator and winner – the Fred Akers story … (7220sports.com)
Royal dispatched Assistant Coach Fred Akers on a fact-finding mission to Steinmark’s hometown of Wheat Ridge, Colorado in 1967. Akers knocked on the door, and a slight youngster greeted him with a big smile. Akers actually thought it was Steinmark’s younger brother, Sammy, six years his junior.
Below is a retrospective article from longtime UT staffer Bill Little on Akers’ return to Wyoming when the Longhorns played the Cowboys in Laramie, Wyo., in 2009.
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Bill Little, Texas Media Relations
The high plains of southern Wyoming–nestled between the Snowy Range and the Laramie Range of the Rocky Mountains has a unique tie to Texas football history, and as the Longhorns head there Saturday to play the University of Wyoming, former Texas and Wyoming head coach Fred Akers will step on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium one more time.
Thirty-three years ago, Akers left there in search of a dream.
Fred Akers tenure as head coach at Texas–10 seasons–equals that of D. X. Bible. In terms of longevity, it is third behind Darrell Royal (20 years) and Mack Brown (11 years). His teams were ranked No. 1 in the country at some point during three different seasons and he coached players who earned first team all-American honors 21 times. They posted two unbeaten regular seasons and won two Southwest Conference crowns.
In his window of time as the Longhorns head football coach from 1977 through 1986, time after time the magic of the ultimate goal of the gold ring seemed to somehow just slip away.
Akers retired from coaching years ago and has been involved in motivational speaking. He and his wife, Diane, now live at Horseshoe Bay, but Saturday, he re-joins the Longhorn football family as a guest when UT travels to Laramie, Wyo., where a pivotal piece of the montage of his life occurred.
This is his story.
In the annals of Texas football, only six men have come close to coaching the Longhorns as a head coach or an assistant for 20 years. The legendary Clyde Littlefield leads the crowd with 25 years, followed by David McWilliams with 21, Darrell Royal, Mike Campbell and Bully Gilstrap with 20 and Fred Akers with 19.
Akers had been a dashing young assistant coach, rising from the ranks of Texas high schools to join Darrell Royal’s staff in time for one of the most storied eras of Longhorn football history. His odyssey would take him to a head coaching job in Wyoming, and two years later, to the ultimate job of his dreams.
He was Freddie Akers then–this young man whom Darrell Royal had chosen from the ranks of Texas high school coaches to join his staff in 1966. For nine years, he had coached positions on both sides of the football as the Longhorns went on a 30-game winning streak, won six conference championships and two national titles.
He was one of those bright young guys in college coaching–an assistant who had been courted by some Southwest Conference schools–and as the 1974 season ended, he took the leap to the head job at Wyoming. The Cowboys struggled to a 2-9 season his first year, but the next season, Akers and his staff turned things around. The team went 8-4, won the WAC Title, and earned a surprising berth in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.
His destiny was far from finished, however. Oh, he was a cowboy at heart–he and his wife had actually owned a ranch that doubled as a summer camp for kids east of Austin. He had the boots and the jeans, but he also could switch easily into a three-piece suit. His youth (he was 39), his time at Texas, his quick success in Laramie and that new look captured the attention of the powers that be at The University of Texas. When Darrell Royal decided to retire as head football coach following that 1976 season, Fred Akers was the surprise choice to follow the legend–picked over Royal’s long-time assistant and personal favorite Mike Campbell.
With an energetic young staff and a stable full of really good football players, Akers’ first season was almost like a dream come true. Earl Campbell won the Heisman Trophy, Brad Shearer was the Outland Trophy winner, and Texas finished the regular season as Southwest Conference champions, unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country.
It was the first of three times (1977, 1981, 1984) Texas under Akers would achieve a No. 1 national ranking during the regular season. Three other times (1979, 1980 and 1983) they made it as high as No. 2. Akers’ 1981 team earned its highest finish–No. 2 in the nation–after beating Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
Despite a few critical losses, which denied Texas and Akers their ultimate goal, by the middle of 1984, he had the highest winning percentage in Texas history. His teams had won 80 percent of their games. Then in the midst of a time of turmoil in the Southwest Conference where NCAA violations took down several programs, Texas began to disappear from the national college football landscape. Akers saw it slip away as his teams went 14-14 over their last 28 games, and his time as the Longhorns head coach ended after his injury plagued 1986 team finished 5-6.
It is always tough to follow a legend, and Fred Akers sought and accepted that challenge. His 10-year record of 86-31-2 produced the third most wins by a Texas coach–behind Royal and Mack Brown. He brought the Longhorns two conference championships, two unbeaten regular seasons, a Heisman Trophy winner and took them to nine bowl games.
His teams were respected for tough, solid football. He took the great talent Royal had left and added to it with exceptional recruiting classes in the early 1980s. His 1983 team sent a school-record 18 players into the NFL draft.
When the 2009 trip to Laramie was scheduled, Akers contacted Mack Brown about the possibility of riding along as the Longhorns headed to the high country. When Wyoming officials got word that Akers was making the trip, they arranged for him to be on the field for the coin flip. He is, after all, the only man to ever serve as head coach at both schools, and in his time he brought league championships to both.
So Saturday, Akers will be back in Wyoming, where his head coaching career was launched. He’s a guest of Texas, whose Longhorns will be putting their No. 2 national ranking on the line in a 2:30 p.m. (CDT) game against the Cowboys.
Texassports.com
Remembering Coach Akers
I was so saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Fred Akers. I was blessed to be with this man almost every day for ten years. I was hired in July of 1977 by Coach Darrell Royal, then the Athletic Director for Men’s Athletics at The University of Texas. I was a counselor at Georgetown High School, where I had been for two years, and I had a teaching/coaching/counseling background of thirteen years. I met with Coach Royal a couple of times, and he had me meet several members of the Men’s Athletic Council for Lunch. The first time he had me meet Coach Akers and visit with him for a time, I was so impressed by the man. He was very cordial, an excellent speaker, obviously a man of very high standards, a strong work ethic, and had great self-confidence. I came away knowing that I had just met a man of strong moral character, a man who cared greatly for the young men who played football for Texas, and the kind of man that my dad would tell me, “this is a man you want to work within a great place.” As usual, my dad was right.
For the next ten years, I was with Coach Akers almost every day. He used to say, “we work three hundred ninety days a year,” and he was right. And so, I spent the next ten years with this fine man, almost every day. I so admired the manner he used with our players, caring about them, taking a knee at the end of practice. Him asking them if they had “called their mother this week,” “treat your girlfriend as you would your sister – with respect,” “make sure you are on your schoolwork, see Mr. Eivens when you need help,” “walk and talk like a winner.”
For every home football game, he had me to invite three people from either the UT Faculty, Admissions, The Registrar’s Office, or other departments to be guest coaches for each upcoming home game. They would join us early on game day for the taping, pre-game meal, the weight room and Dana LeDuc, the dressing room, Coach Aker’s team meeting, and they were on the field with us for the game in the bench area. They all loved it! After that experience, he would have me take a special team and coaches’ autographed football, with the game and the date of the game on it to each of them. They loved the entire experience!
On Thursday, he and I would go up to the Student Union on campus for a “Faculty Luncheon.” He always said that he didn’t get to meet faculty very often due to his busy schedule, and he wanted them to be a part of the program, so we would sometimes walk the campus or drive up to the building. He would eat lunch with some faculty, then speak to everyone about last week’s game and the upcoming game and some of our players who had done something special, such as visiting the Children’s’ Hospital occasionally to visit with young children who were ill. All of the faculty members were very impressed with Coach Akers and his speaking ability.
I could go on and on. He was such a good man, an outstanding coach, and a fine leader of young men. All of us who crossed paths with Coach Akers are better people today. Bless him and his wonderful wife, Diane, and their two daughters, Leslie and Stacy.
Sincerely,
Joe Eivens Former Academic Counselor/Men’s Athletic Dept.
1) He was a great human being and a great coach. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. Please let Diane know I sent this to your group and I am thinking of her.
Susan Bellard
2)Quick Akers story for you: Back when I was covering the old SWC for the Dallas Morning News, the annual press tour came to Austin. En route to a function, I happened to find a seat next to Fred Akers.
I asked him about his son, Danny, the holder for Longhorn placekicks then about to graduate. I was interested because of early discussions with my own son Turk — later recruited by UT Coach David McWilliams and a consensus all-conference center in 1992 for John Mackovic.
“Coach, if Danny wants to coach, what would you tell him?”
Akers the elder mildly surprised by the question, paused a moment to think.
“I would encourage Danny not to coach unless he can’t NOT coach.”
Note: The Akers death will be just as big of a story in Arkansas as in Texas.
Mark McDonald
3) Fred Akers was the one who put Earl in the I formation. And the rest is historyJesse Gonzales
4) Got word from Fred Akers’ daughter Stacey, that the former UT coach passed away today.
Last September a large group of his former players got to see him and take one last picture with him.
After he retired he was here in the Austin area and was always great to deal with for interviews and stories. He’d go out of his way to help me out.
RIP Coach Akers. Mike Barnes
5) Coach akers was one of the rare coaches that followed a legend and became one in his own way. Most of the coaches following legends don’t last long it is a tough job. Glynn Kelley
6) I moved to Austin in ’78. My best buddy, Wilbert Ray Green was such a huge Horns fan that I became one through osmosis. Freddie Akers was my ‘first’ Texas coach and Ray and I attended many games when he was still the UT coach. My buddy Ray passed away a couple of weeks ago and I’m sure he was the first to welcome Freddie to the burnt orange clouds of heaven.Bob Gagne
7) I was in Austin during Coach Akers’ tenure. Best wishes always, Akers family. Thanks for sharing Coach with us. Hook Em. Benjamin K. Webb
8) He was my coach when I played, gave me a chance to wear my burnt orange R. I. P. Coach Rory Smith
9) Sally and I are deeply saddened to learn of Fred Akers passing. He was so kind to me. He was a great man, a wonderful football coach, and an excellent representative for the University of Texas. Our condolences go out to his wife, Diane, and all of his family and friends. Mack Brown
10) Doug Dawson, the All-America offensive lineman for the 1983 team.“He was one of those guys who over the years you realize that part of your lifestyle is based on things you learned from him,” Dawson said. “I call it ‘delusional optimism’ — the ability to visualize success at every level. He was the first guy to teach me that.”“He was serious, but he could be funny, and he had a way of encouraging young guys to do their best.”
11)Donnie Little said Akers convinced him he would receive a fair shot to play quarterback for the Longhorns.“He stepped out on a limb and convinced me that Texas would be a fair and equitable place,” Little said. “You could feel his honesty when he was sitting in our living room with my parents. He was preaching how he wanted to make change and make history at UT, and he was a man of his word.”
12) Earl Campbell said “We were in the dressing room before we played (Texas A&M) in 1977, and (Akers) was walking around and talking to players,” Campbell said in 2011. “He walked up to me and said, ‘Earl, you do not need to leave this stadium without people realizing who the best football player in the country is. You give me anything over 160 yards, and I guarantee that you will win the Heisman Trophy.’
13) “It’s a very sad day with the news of the passing of one of our Longhorn Legends in Coach Akers,” Herman said. “In the opportunities I had to spend time with Coach, he was always so warm and gracious. The many, many great players he had at Texas have always shared such fond memories, too. He had tremendous success here and was a highly respected, all-time great in our coaching fraternity and beyond. On behalf of the Texas Football program, we send our sincere condolences to his family, friends, the numerous Longhorns he coached and worked with, as well as the many people whose lives he impacted.”
14) We lost a rare treasure in Fred Akers. He was an amazing coach, but more importantly, he was an amazing man, father and role model for anyone who had the pleasure of coming into contact with him.
Growing up in Austin gave us some amazing experiences and one was spending summers at Camp Running R that Fred and Diane Akers co-owned. That was such a magical place and where I cemented my love of horses and love of the outdoors. I remember fondly getting a ribbon from Fred (this was way before the era of participation trophys) for falling off Charlie Brown because I flew right off that horse during a barrel racing contest. But this was a really ugly brown ribbon so there was no mistaking it for a win, but it was a loving and fun way to laugh about wiping out so publically.
But we learned responsibility as well. I always joked that we were “coached” by Fred once when one of the overnight camping events got out of control. That was a stern lecture and a very large group of kids cleaned up and didn’t make a peep after that chat. There was a reason he won so many football games at UT.
Running R was a safe place to push your limits and learn how to complete, grow, get up when you fall down and to never give up. I bet a lot of young men would say they had the same experience about being a Longhorn during the time Fred was their coach.
Like many others, my life was better by having spent time with the Akers and I will always have a lot of love for Fred and his entire family.
Sending you all lots of love and prayers. Margaret Malone
12/07/2020
Coach Aker’s as a Longhorn assistant coach and head coach competed for 4 national championships winning 2 and losing 2. More content will be added as more information is available. The link for updates is
https://www.texaslsn.org/2020-coach-fred-akers
Below are some links to Coach Aker’s articles written for the TLSN website.
https://www.texaslsn.org/1982-by-steve-ross
https://www.texaslsn.org/september-14-2018-of-some-great-players-from-the-akers-years
Defenders: Family of former UT Coach Fred Akers pushing for visits at nursing homes
Coach Fred Akers is a familiar face to many loyal UT fans. Now his family is pushing for family visits for patients like him as they suffer from isolation.
Author: Terri Gruca
Published: 3:40 PM CDT August 25, 2020
Updated: 6:05 PM CDT August 25, 2020
HORSESHOE BAY, Texas — Dementia robs you of time, perspective and understanding. It is especially heartbreaking for those who have a way with words.
“When things don’t go right, you need to be at your best,” said Fred Akers during his last public appearance, a speech at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2016.
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Those words mean so much more now because of what he and his family are going through.
“It’s just hard when it’s not like it should be,” said Diane Akers.
In February, nine years after a dementia diagnosis, Diane Akers made a heartbreaking decision.
“It was a hard decision to put him in a memory care facility, but he was becoming distant and just not getting involved with anything,” she said.
He thrived there, interacting with others – and she visited every day. Then COVID-19 changed everything.
The facility where he was staying went on lockdown, cut out activities and kept residents safely inside their rooms. Diane Akers’ daily visits were limited to window visits through glass.
“He didn’t understand why his hand had to be on a piece of glass, why he couldn’t feel anyone. Then he got disinterested because he couldn’t feel the human touch, the hug, any of it. So it made him not talk at all,” she said.
“It’s like solitary confinement,” said Leslie Akers. “It was killing him.”
Families across the country are sharing similar stories. As much as they want to protect their loved ones from COVID-19, they say the price is too high. Time away is taking its toll.
RELATED: Defenders: Is it enough? Visitation policy changes may provide some relief to seniors in isolation
“Quarantine for five weeks, and that became too much to watch. He wouldn’t eat, he didn’t want to eat,” said Diane Akers.
He lost 25 pounds. They decided to bring him back home.
“Until you see it firsthand … you know it’s bad, you know it’s tear-jerking, but until you are one of them, without your loved one, you don’t know the feeling,” said Diane Akers.
The Akers are very private people but wanted to share their story to help other families going through the same worries.
“I hope by sharing this it brings exposure to something that otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed,” said Leslie Akers.
Fighting spirit returns at home
They’ve seen the fight Coach Akers always brought to the football field come back now that he’s home.
“He’s been getting better and better and better. Now he rides a bike. He’s on his recumbent bike 15 minutes a day,” she said.
A glimmer of hope in a long battle.
“It is hard,” said Diane Akers. “But you are not going to quit on him.”
A group of families have created a petition to open nursing facilities to loved ones. They have collected nearly 16,000 signatures as of Aug. 25.
Ryan Autullo American-Statesman Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
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Akers coached Texas to within one win of national titles in 1977 and 1983.
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His first head coaching job was at Edinburg High School in the mid-1960s; 29 of his fomer players will attend Friday’s Hall of Honor induction.
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Akers and current head coach Charlie Strong grew up within 12 miles of each other in Arkansas.
Posted September 25th, 2015
Nearly 30 years after he coached his final game at Texas, Fred Akers has received proper recognition.
Akers, 77, who has long been under-appreciated at Texas despite a successful 10-year run as Darrell Royal’s replacement, was inducted into the men’s Hall of Honor on Friday.
He averaged more than eight victories per year and guided the Longhorns to within a win of the national title in both the 1977 and 1983 seasons. Including the nine years he served as an assistant under Royal, Akers coached 19 seasons at Texas.
His first head coaching job came at Edinburg High School in the mid-1960s. Twenty-nine of his old Edinburg players have requested tickets to Friday’s induction ceremony.
Akers lives in Horseshoe Bay with his wife, Diane. The couple has three children, including Danny, who played quarterback for the Longhorns, as well as six grandchildren, and a great grandchild that was born three weeks ago.
How did you find out that you were getting inducted?
(American-Statesman columnist) Kirk Bohls. We had worked together for years. He knew us about as well as anyone.
Hand out photo courtesy of the University of Texas Athletics Department of Randy McEachern and coach Fred Akers. Received 09/25/07.
He says this induction should have come sooner. Are you surprised it didn’t?
I’m thankful that it’s there. I had the same honor at the University of Arkansas. That’s where I played. Then at the Arkansas sports hall of fame. That came later. I’ve had a little bit of work with that.
Does it mean more to be inducted as a player or as a coach?
That wouldn’t matter. Well, it does matter. You can do so much as a coach and the coach’s staff. You can really shape the whole life of these athletes that you have. Of course when you’re a player, you like that too.
Which former players do you keep in touch with?
There’s so many. We get together every so often. You get guys like Kenneth Sims, Lawrence Sampleton, Randy McEachern — but the star, the stud, and he’s a friend, is Earl Campbell. I was there with him when he got the Heisman Trophy.
Did you hear that Earl did not make the Football Writers Association of America’s 75th anniversary All-America team?
What? Man alive.
Was he the best player you coached?
Yes. Best one I ever saw.
You inherited him his senior year, right?
Yes, but I coached him as a freshman. I left to go to University of Wyoming as a head coach. And then I had an opportunity to come to Texas as a head coach. I was gonna have a man there that would help guide me in Darrell Royal. That helped.
I’m told Darrell wanted Mike Campbell, and not you, for his replacement. Was there ever friction between you and Darrell after that?
The man had all he would want in coaching in football. He’s not going to interfere with what they’re doing over in the Tower. So, no. My goodness. I ran miles and miles with him recruiting. That was good.
What do you do for fun?
I like to be with my family. We’re a tennis family. One of my daughters played tennis at Purdue when I was there. I don’t challenge anybody anymore.
Hand out photo courtesy of the University of Texas Athletics Department of Coach Fred Akers. Received 09/25/07.
Do you play at all?
I do, but I’m nursing a low back. There’s a lot of twisting. I’ve got two grandchildren (at Vandergrift) that already are ranked (freshman Charli Delmonico is No. 8 in Texas; junior Zachary Delmonico is No. 22).
Do you still speak with Craig Curry?
I haven’t talked with Craig in far too many years.
Does his dropped punt (in the 1984 Cotton Bowl) still sting?
I wanted him to get rid of that. That’s a heartbreaker. It’s hard to sleep. I’d rather our players know that they’re better than what they are trying to tell me.
The following season, your team voted three times before they finally decided to play Iowa in the Freedom Bowl. Were you going to let them not play?
We had to play. The seniors might not have wanted to play and didn’t have the heart for it, but those freshmen and sophomores and juniors, they’re there to play. We sure didn’t have a good game (a 55-17 loss). It rained. You had mud up to your ankles.
Do you still follow Texas football?
Yeah. (Akers attends practice regularly)
1997 file….University of Texas coach Fred Akers, foreground, smiles along with Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell during interview Friday morning on the NBC “Today” show.
Do you know Charlie Strong?
Yeah. When he was coming up as a young man, his family were farmers in a little place in Arkansas called Luxora. Luxora and my town, Blytheville, are 12 miles apart. It’s amazing. I’ve known him, I’ve seen him in recruiting. He was there 12 miles from our stadium.
Do you think he’s going to win at Texas?
I do. You gotta give him some time. I was fortunate when I came from Wyoming, we won a (Western Athletic Conference) championship there. I was there two years. We had a number of people that were calling me to come back. I said I’ve got a family and they’re involved. We’ll talk about it. They talked the very next morning. Wyoming treated me very well, and we did well. But I think Charlie will do it his way. Those guys will stick with him and he’ll develop them.
Glad you don’t have to stop the spread, uptempo offenses we see today?
The main thing is guys that they’re recruiting are playing that spread offense a lot. You can put them out there and have almost a wishbone. All those handoffs that you see, their blocking is what’s accurate and what they have to have. I think it’s everybody in the country.
Do you know Mike Perrin, the new interim athletic director?
He was a good football player. Sharp guy.
Do you think he’ll do a good job?
I do. He’s fair. He’s always been fair. He wants that whole athletic department to succeed and I don’t care what sport it is. He’s gonna do very good. He’s sharp.
