 | PAUL W. BRYANT |
The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1969.
Paul W. Bryant, former Athletic Director and head football coach at the
University of Alabama, was born in Fordyce, Arkansas, and first came to Alabama in 1931. It
was that year that he was recruited for a football scholarship by Coach Hank Crisp.
He college career saw success for the Crimson Tide football team, for which Bryant played right
end. He was a member of the famous 1934 Alabama team which defeated Stanford 20-13 in the
Rose Bowl to climax an undefeated season.
Throughout Paul Bryant's years as head football coach, he compiled an enviable record
of success. He began coaching as an assistant under Coach Frank Thomas at Alabama in the late
1930's, then spent two years as an assistant at Vanderbilt before enlisting in the Navy where he
rose to the rank of lieutenant commander.
In 1945, Bryant began his long career as a head coach at the University of Maryland, and led the
Terrapin football team to a 6-2-1 record. One year later, he went to Kentucky, where he stayed
eight years and rolled up a 60-23-5 record. His Kentucky teams won the SEC championship
once and went to four bowl games.
Bryant went to Texas A&M in 1954, and over a four-year span, went from a 1-9 season in 1954
to an undefeated record in 1956. Overall, his Texas-A&M teams won 25, lost 14, and tied 2.
Paul Bryant's alma mater called him home in 1958 where a rebuilding program vaulted him soon
into the ranks of American's premier football coaches. In his first eleven years at the helm of the
Crimson Tide, his young charges won 96 football games, lost only 15, and tied seven.
Bryant's outstanding career at Alabama brought national recognition to the state, as his teams
won six national championships, in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979. In 1961, he was named national
"Coach of the Year" in recognition of his accomplishments. Bryant's teams went to ten
successive bowl games.
Overall, Paul W. Bryant compiled a national record of 323 victories as a head
football coach. But perhaps most important was the contribution he made to the lives of
the hundreds of young men who came under his tutelage.
Bryant was active in civic affairs and served as Co-Chairman of a Fund Raising Drive to
built chapels at Bryce, Part low, and Search hospitals for mentally ill and mentally retarded
patients. He was a frequent after-dinner speaker, and was in constant demand for coaching clinics
and other public appearances.
Bryant, now deceased, was a grandfather, and was active in several business enterprises in
addition to his duties as coach and Athletic Director.
Updated: March 15, 2007