I’ve had a lot of fun writing about Coach Tjeerdsma and his induction into the Hall of Fame this year. Part of the reason is simple Kangaroo pride. But there’s more. He was inducted alongside Longhorn Mack Brown.
My Longhorn brother Gavin and I have a little rivalry going. Well, I think it’s a rivalry. Him not so much. I keep telling him about the intense historic competition between Austin College & the University of Texas, and he keeps asking exactly where the heck Sherman, TX is located.
Mainly I just like annoying him. I’ll never hesitate to point out that AC not UT is the birth of Texas college football, that the Roos were robbed of a win over the Horns in 1912, that the 1920 conference championship that hangs in DKR had to go through Austin College, that the Horns lost the first game ever at DKR to a Baylor team that AC had beaten two weeks earlier, and that DKR itself was financed by a UT President with an AC diploma. He may roll his eyes, but all I see is Roo respect. 😉
The National Football Foundation Hall of Fame ceremony was recently held in New York City. Coaches Mel Tjeerdsma and Mack Brown were a part of the Class of 2018 inductees. I got a kick out of calling my Longhorn brother to deliver the news. Your guy may be going in, but he’s got company. Gavin, who was in the stands for both Vince Young Rose Bowls, was rolling his eyes once again.
You may not know much about these two Hall of Fame individuals. I’m here to help. My Longhorn brother would probably not do a write up in this manner. But he ain’t here, and I am. So, let’s get this rolling. It’s time to give a shout out to two legendary Coaches in the state of Texas. Roo Style.
=====================================
Mel Tjeerdsma is the winningest coach in Austin College football history. His tenure from 1984 to 1993 included 9 winning seasons, 3 conference titles, and 2 trips to the NAIA playoffs. His 1988 team, perhaps his best, won 9 games, a TIAA conference title, and lost in the playoffs to the eventual national champions.
Austin College recently celebrated Mel Tjeerdsma Day at Louis Calder Stadium. Tjeerdsma was honored in the “A” Room by the National Football Foundation, with a large number of his former players there to congratulate and support. Many of these same former players were also later in New York to celebrate his induction in person. The Roos beat Hendrix in a rainstorm, and all was right in the world. Kirk Hughes, the “Voice of the Roos”, was in top form. Kirk’s color guy was a little iffy though. 😉
Tjeerdsma left Sherman for Northwest Missouri State, where he won 12 conference titles and 3 NCAA D2 national championships. Tjeerdsma was assisted by assistant Coach Bart Tatum, a Roo running back from AC’s 1988 team.
Mel Tjeerdsma is a four-time American Football Coaches Assocation (AFCA) national coach of the year.
=====================================
Mack Brown got his big break in 1980, when he was promoted to Iowa State Offensive Coordinator by former 1960s Austin College Kangaroo football player / Cyclone Head Coach Donnie Duncan. Of Brown, Duncan said the following: “The length of time Mack has coached has prepared him well for this position. He gives us two positive values – youth and seven years [of] college coaching experience.”
Brown’s success under Duncan eventually led to the head coaching position at Tulane. Although Brown was unable to replicate the success of former 1920s Austin College Kangaroo football player Henry Frnka, who won a 1949 SEC title for the Green Wave, he did guide Tulane to an Independence Bowl appearance in his last year. Brown’s success was aided by some key assistant coach hires. Among them former 1970s Austin College Kangaroo football player Hardee McCrary. Brown’s nickname for McCrary? “Mr. Organized.”
Brown brought McCrary to Austin in 1998, where the two built a new Longhorn football dynasty. In 2004, Assistant Coach McCrary surveyed the scene after six years of hard work. He saw a team unlike any other, led by one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the history of the game. He called Brown and told him that it was time to move on. His work was done. Then, along with my brother and the rest of us, he watched Brown and Vince Young win one of the greatest national championships in the history of the game.
In 2011, Mack Brown secured a win over Texas A&M in dramatic fashion on a Justin Tucker 40-yard field goal with no time remaining. Since that kick, the best rivalry in the state has been on hold. A kicker wears shoes but a holder does not wear gloves. So technically, the last player to touch a football in the UT-A&M rivalry was Longhorn holder Cade McCrary. The son of an Austin College Kangaroo. Nice hold Cade. Go Horns and Go Roos.
Mack Brown is a former President of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
=====================================
See video of the Hall of Fame ceremonies in New York last month. Congratulations to these two outstanding Texas coaches with Austin College ties! Take it away, Archie Griffin.
The AFCA is meeting in San Antonio this weekend. Austin College is hosting a “Huddle Up” event tonight in conjunction with the conference at Chisme, a restaurant owned and run by former 1990s Austin College Kangaroo football player Chad Parker Carey and Roo alumni Kate Currie Carey. I unfortunately can’t pull off the trip. However, if you are in the San Antonio area, stop by to chat with AD David Norman, JR Ohr, Coach Mel Tjeerdsma, and others.
Congrats on the Sugar Bowl win, Gav. The Horns are back! I checked the 2019 schedule and don’t see the Roos listed, so your optimism is well placed. Maybe one day you’ll get Longhorn Sam Ehlinger inducted alongside Roo Cecil Grigg, who absolutely led AC to a win over the Horns in 1912.
