SHSU's Ron Randleman to Retire

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Dec. 12, 2004

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Ron Randleman, the all-time winningest football coach in Southland Conference history, has announced his retirement after 23 years as head coach at Sam Houston State University. He exits the coaching fraternity ranked third among NCAA Division I-AA active football head coaches in total victories.

Randleman's all-time record of 219 victories, 166 losses, and six ties includes 11 conference championships and 10 post-season national playoff appearances. Twelve times Randleman has been honored as regional or conference "Coach-of-the-Year." After SHSU joined the Southland for the 1987 season, Randleman led his clubs to 99 victories to give him 16 more wins than any other coach in Southland history.

"Serving as head coach at Sam Houston has been an exciting and rewarding experience. I love this job and I love this University. But I've been doing this job for a long time and it's time to start doing some other things," Randleman said. "I take a lot of pride in what all the men who have been part of this program have accomplished. I plan to spend more time with my family and more time getting out and seeing my former players and their teams play. This spring, I will be helping Bobby Williams, our director of athletics, to raise money for the program. I'll always be proud to be a Bearkat."

Randleman directed the Bearkats to their first NCAA Division I-AA national semifinals appearance, a school record victory total (11), and a Southland Conference championship in 2004. Sam Houston State was the most improved team in NCAA Division I-A and I-AA football this season, going from a 2-9 record in 2003 to an 11-3 mark this year. No previous SHSU team has won 11 games in one season. Randleman is a finalist for the 2004 Eddy Robinson award as NCAA Division I-AA national "Coach of the Year."

The Bearkats ranked third nationally, the school's highest NCAA I-AA ranking ever, before a Nov. 13 loss to Northwestern State. SHSU stood ninth in the I-AA national poll going into the I-AA playoffs. Final NCAA I-AA rankings will be released Monday, Dec. 20.

"Twenty three years ago, Ron Randleman hired me as an assistant coach here at Sam Houston State. This is a hard day for me," Williams said. "I have five championship rings because of this man. He taught me and a whole lot of other people to be winners and to win with class. Over the years, Coach Randleman and I have developed a great relationship. In my experience, its the best relationship I've ever seen between a head coach and an athletic director. Ron directed a winning program with integrity. More than 90 per cent of players who stayed with coach until their senior year earned their Sam Houston State degree. He has made a tremendous impact on this University. A search for a new head coach will begin immediately. Until we hire a new coach, Ron will direct the program."

Named as head coach on Feb. 5, 1982, Randleman took over a program that had gone 25-67 in its last eight seasons at the NAIA level. He built the Bearkats into a team that earned NCAA Division I-AA national rankings in 1986 (11th), 1987 (19th), 1991 (12th), 2001 (7th), and 2004 (final ranking to be announced). Randleman has directed the Bearkats to top four Southland Conference finishes in 11 of SHSU's 17 seasons as a league member. Named Southland "Coach-of-the-Year" in both 1991 and 2001 after directing the Kats to the SFL titles, his record as Bearkat head coach is 132 victories, 124 losses and three ties.

"I want to thank University President James Gaertner, past presidents Bobby Marks and Elliott T. Bowers, Athletic Director Bobby Williams, and Tommy Davis, our long time faculty athletic representative, for all their support," Randleman said. "I also appreciate the support of the University's faculty and staff and the Huntsville community. Huntsville and Sam Houston State are a great place to live and work. I am proud of what we have accomplished here. This is a program of integrity. Most of all, I want to thank my coaching staff, both former coaches and current, and especially the all the athletes who have played for us. They are the ones who made this job such a pleasure."

Respected by his coaching peers, Randleman is a past president of both the NCAA Division I-AA Football Coaches Association and the NAIA Football Coaches Association. In January 1999, he was one of four coaches elected to the Board of Trustees for the American Football Coaches Association. The AFCA, founded in 1922 by Amos Alonzo Stagg, John Heisman and others, has more than 10,000 members for all levels of the coaching profession. Randleman also serves as a member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

A native of Iowa (born Dec. 17, 1941), and a 1960 graduate of Carlisle (Iowa) High School, Randleman was an all-conference quarterback at William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He received a Bachelor's degree from William Penn in 1964 and a Master's degree from the University of Iowa in 1969. Randleman coached at Twin Cedars High School in Bussey, Iowa, from 1964 to 1966 before returning to his alma mater, William Penn, as offensive coordinator and golf coach. He was named as head coach in 1969, compiling a 51-17-1 record from 1969 to 1975. Randleman directed the Statesmen to the NAIA post-season playoffs three times (1972, 1974, and 1975).

From 1976 to 1981, Randleman served as head coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, where he compiled a 36-25-2 record. He directed the Gorillas to three Central States Conference championships and a trip to the NAIA national finals in 1981. He received coach of the year honors from his conference and his NAIA district three times. In 1981, he was named NAIA National Coach of the Year and NAIA District Six Coach of the Year.