Congratulations to Sam Houston State. The Bearkats earned a D1 FCS title in football today with a dramatic, last second win over South Dakota State.In attendance was JR Ohr. JR is a former Roo QB, former Bearkat athletics staffer, and current Roo Executive Director for development. JR’s daughter is now 1-0 in national championship games.
Former Sam Houston assistant coach Bart Tatum was a Roo fullback on AC’s 1988 TIAA conference championship team. Tatum will be honored this summer at Legends, given the 2021 Joe Spencer award for coaching.
Roo Mary Northup Downey‘s daughter plays for the Sam Houston women’s soccer team. The Bearkats advanced to within one game of the NCAA tournament in 2021. Go get ‘em next year Downeys! The Bearkat soccer team competes at Joseph Pritchett Field.
Joseph Pritchett Field is the former home of Sam Houston Bearkat football. In 1946, Kangaroo football traveled to Huntsville and defeated the Bearkats 19-18 at Pritchett Field. On the sidelines for the Bearkats was assistant coach Henry “Molly” Crawford.
Crawford House, a dorm adjacent to Pritchett Field, is named in his honor. Before Sam Houston, Crawford was an outstanding Roo football and track athlete at Austin College in the 1920s. Crawford was inducted into the Sam Houston Hall of Honor in 1971. Crawford is also a member of the Austin College Hall of Honor.
Austin College called the campus of Sam Houston home from 1849 to 1876. The original building, Austin Hall, still stands. It’s the oldest building devoted to education west of the Mississippi. The ties between AC & Sam Houston are strong.
Congratulations to the 2021 Bearkats of Sam Houston. Sam Houston, as you are probably aware, was an original member of the Austin College Board of Trustees.
Dang Michael Dickens, it’s kind of annoying how much I’m starting to love Sam Houston State & your hometown of Huntsville, TX.
