Former Northwestern State Football Coach Going Into Arkansas Hall
Oct. 31, 2006
Arkadelphia, Ark. -
Henderson State Athletic Director Sam Goodwin, the Southland Conference's second-winningest all-time football coach, will be among 11 people who will be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 23, 2007.
"This is a great honor and I am speechless," said Goodwin who was inducted into the Reddie Hall of Honor in 1998. "I was not expecting this. There are so many great people that are deserving. You dream of its happening some day, but you never think you are deserving of the honor.
Also making up the Class of 2007 are Offensive tackle Willie Roaf, middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, Rod Smith, Tom Pagnozzi, Tina Webb, Bobby Crockett, Ray Rodgers, Ted Loyd, George Walker and Jim Elder.
Henderson State football coach Scott Maxfield was not surprised at the news and knew it was just a matter of time.
"I went with Coach Goodwin to last year's Hall of Fame induction ceremony," said Maxfield. "After looking around and seeing the accomplishments the prior inductees had, I turned to Coach Goodwin and told him that he would be in here soon. Not to take anything away from previous inductees, but Coach Goodwin's credential were equally if not more impressive than previous inductees. He definitely deserves this honor."
Goodwin, a 1966 graduate of Henderson State, took over as athletic director at Henderson State in 2000.
The legendary coach spent 17 years as head football coach at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. He was enshrined in to the Northwestern State Graduate N Club Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2001 was inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Fame.
Goodwin won 111 games, including a school-record of 102 at Northwestern State. He is also the Southland Conference's all-time leader in victories and is a two-time winner of the league's coach of the year award.
Goodwin's Northwestern State teams won four conference titles, the 1984 Gulf Star Conference championship, and three Southland Conference championships in 1988, 1997 and 1998. Goodwin guided the Demons to three NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearances, highlighted by the 1998 season in which Northwestern State reached the semifinal round of the 1-AA playoffs. That team tied the school record with 11 wins. His 1988 team, which advanced to the I-AA quarterfinals, won 10 games.
Goodwin coached 22 All-Americans, two Verizon Academic All-Americans, a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, 42 first team All-Southland selections, and had 38 of his players go on to the NFL.
Prior to coaching at Northwestern, Goodwin spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, where he coached running backs and quarterbacks under Lou Holtz. Goodwin helped the Razorbacks make appearances in the Gator Bowl and the Bluebonnet Bowl.
Goodwin was the head coach at Southern Arkansas University in 1979 and 1980, and he was the head coach at Parkview High School in Little Rock from 1970-78 where he won six conference titles and five state championships. He also coached at Hall High School in Little Rock, serving as head track coach and defensive coordinator for two seasons on teams that went 19-1-1.
Goodwin's first job was at Forest Heights Junior High School in Little Rock, where he was head track coach and head football coach in 1966 and 1967. His football teams were 14-2 those two years. During his nine seasons at Parkview, Goodwin won 72 percent of his games and led the Patriots to five state championships.
A native of Pineville, La., Goodwin attended Pineville High School and played on the 1960 state championship football team. In his senior year, he was named team captain and played offensive guard and defensive end while weighing only 160 pounds. He only played in two games during his senior year - the first one and the last one - because of a broken ankle.
Goodwin came to Henderson State as a walk-on who developed into an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference player on offense and defense. He earned NAIA All-America honors as a guard in 1965, and he was included in the AIC's All-Decade team by Dave Campbell's Arkansas Football Magazine.
Goodwin was also a three-time AIC champion in the discus, setting a conference record in 1965.
Goodwin is married to the former Kim Harris. A native of Natchitoches, La., Kim has four children: Austin, Taylor, Dillon and Tiffany.
Goodwin has three children: Robbie Lyn, Angie and Jay; and four grandchildren.