John Franklin Broyles was born on December 26, 1924, in Decatur, Georgia. A gifted athlete in multiple sports, he went on to play quarterback for Georgia Tech where he was coached and mentored by legendary coach, Bobby Dodd.
Broyles began his career as an assistant coach at Baylor University. After serving as Georgia Tech's offensive coordinator, he became the head coach at the University of Missouri. Broyles served as the head coach of the University of Arkansas's Razorback football team from 1958 to 1976 and as the men's athletic director from 1973 to 2007.
Under his guidance, the Razorbacks won seven Southwest Conference championships and two Cotton Bowl games. In 1964, Arkansas was named national champion by the Football Writers Association of America. Broyles coached the team in the 1969 "Big Shootout" against the University of Texas Longhorns. As the athletic director, he successfully moved Arkansas from the Southwest Conference to the Southeastern Conference and raised the standards of Arkansas athletics.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In his honor, the Broyles Award is given annually to an outstanding assistant coach in Division One college football.
Broyles passed away on August 14, 2017.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Frank Broyles and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Frank Broyles's paternal grandmother
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Frank Broyles's maternal grandmother, Grandmother Solms
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Frank Broyles's mother, Louise Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Frank Broyles's father, Ozzie "O. T." Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Frank Broyles's mother and siblings before he was born
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Frank Broyles's brother, Bill
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Frank Broyles (back row, center) playing football at age 13
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Frank Broyles (front row, on right) with baseball team
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Coach W. A. Alexander of Georgia Tech with Frank Broyles (right) before the 1944 Orange Bowl game
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech football coach
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Barbara Day (Broyles) being held by her mother
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Frank and Barbara Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Frank and Barbara Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Frank and Barbara Broyles on their wedding day
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Frank Broyles's wife, Barbara, with their sons, Hank and Jack
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Frank Broyles's wife, Barbara, with sons: (from left) Tommy, Dan, Hank, and Jack
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Hank and Jack Broyles dressed up as cowboys
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Frank and Barbara Broyles with their twins, Linda and Betsy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Frank Broyles's twin girls, Linda and Betsy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Frank and Barbara Broyles with their children: (standing from left) Dan, Jack, Hank, and Tommy; (seated) Linda and Betsy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Frank Broyles at the University of Florida
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Frank Broyles (center) with three former Georgia Tech football players and a trainer
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Georgia Tech's backfield coach, Frank Broyles, being named head football coach at the University of Missouri, January 9, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Frank Broyles (left) as head football coach at the University of Missouri
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Head coach Frank Broyles demonstrating a play at the University of Missouri, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Frank Broyles coaching at the University of Missouri, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Frank Broyles, University of Missouri head coach, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Frank Broyles as head football coach at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Frank Broyles (far right) as head football coach at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with two of his players
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Frank Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: Frank Broyles receiving an award in New Orleans, New Year's 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: Frank and Barbara Broyles with Al Witte (far right)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: Frank Broyles in Razorback Stadium
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: Frank Broyles (center) with his wife, Barbara
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: Frank Broyles as an ABC Sports color commentator
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Gregory Peck and Frank Broyles filming an episode for the television miniseries The Blue and the Gray in Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Barbara and Frank Broyles on vacation, standing with a bagpipe player wearing a Cameron of Lochiel tartan kilt
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#39: Frank Broyles (center) with his four sons: Hank, Tommy, Dan, and Jack
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#40: Frank Broyles, Bill Clinton, and Barbara Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#41: Chuck Dicus and Frank Broyles with the Razorback mascot
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#42: Frank Broyles with Jennings Osborne's "Big Frank" smoker outside War Memorial Stadium
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#43: Frank, Barbara, and Betsy Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#44: Frank and Barbara Broyles (center) with their children: (standing from left) Hank, Jack, Dan, and Tommy; (seated) Linda and Betsy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#45: Frank Broyles (far right) at the Masters Tournament
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#46: Frank and Gen Broyles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#47: Gen and Frank Broyles, 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#48: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Frank Broyles at David and Betsy Arnold's residence; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
