Indiana University Athletics
IU Family Mourns Loss of Legendary Football Coach Bill Mallory
5/25/2018 4:55:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Bill Mallory, Indiana's all-time winningest football coach, died on Friday surrounded by family in Bloomington. He was 82.
Mallory served 13 years at the helm of the Hoosiers and compiled a record of 69-77-3. After an 0-11 initial season, he ran off a 69-66-3 mark that featured seven winning seasons and six bowl appearances, both program records for an IU head coach, and included victories in the 1988 Liberty Bowl and the 1991 Copper Bowl.
"The entire Indiana University family is deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Mallory," IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass said. "Bill was not only a Hall of Fame football coach, but also an extraordinary man who has had an immeasurable impact on countless individuals throughout the course of his career and life. Bill's passion for the sport of football was matched only by his love of his players, his coaches, and most of all, his family. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to know him and his wonderful family. IU Athletics extends our heartfelt condolences to Ellie, Curt, Doug, Mike, Barbara and the entire Mallory family. Bill will be missed by many, but never forgotten."
The 2002 Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame inductee coached six first or second team All-Americans, two first round NFL draft picks and two players (Anthony Thompson, 2nd and Vaughn Dunbar, 6th) who finished in the top six in the Heisman Trophy voting. In 1987, Mallory became the first Big Ten coach to be awarded back-to-back Coach of the Year honors.
That same campaign, he led the Hoosiers to an 8-4 record, a second place Big Ten finish and a Peach Bowl appearance. Capped by its Liberty Bowl triumph, IU netted consecutive eight win seasons for the first time with an 8-3-1 ledger and concluded 1988 ranked 20th in the Associated Press (AP) Poll.
"Coach Mal was respected like none other. Revered, in fact," Thompson, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said. "The kind of respect and reverence that is earned through love and leadership. Not because of a title or being in a position of power. Rather it's because he led with every fiber of his being along with his booming voice, his locked jaw and his whole heart."
Mallory compiled a 168-129-4 (.565) career record at Miami University (1969-73), the University of Colorado (1974-78), Northern Illinois University (1980-83) and Indiana (1984-96). With the Hoosiers, Mallory became the fifth coach ever to guide three different programs to top 20 finishes in the national polls, joining Paul "Bear" Bryant, Dan Devine, Bowden Wyatt and Lou Holtz.
He earned his conference's Coach of the Year recognition on four occasions: 1973 (MAC), 1983 (MAC), 1986 (Big Ten) and 1987 (Big Ten). Mallory was honored as the Kodak District Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1987, and he was head coach of 1993 East Team in the East-West Shrine Bowl.
In Mallory's 27 seasons as a head coach, his teams defeated a dozen top 25 ranked programs, including both No. 9 Ohio State and No. 20 Michigan in 1987. He is the only Hoosiers coach to defeat both schools in the same season. Additionally, Mallory hoisted the Old Oaken Bucket seven times in 13 meetings with Purdue.
"I will always appreciate the opportunity given to me to be the head football coach at Indiana University," Mallory said at his IU Athletics Hall of Fame induction. "I cherish all of the people with whom I was associated during my 13-year tenure at IU. Those people were my coaching staff, the players, the support staff, the administration, the faculty, and the loyal Hoosier supporters. These people made my experience at IU very enjoyable and rewarding. It has also been very rewarding to watch my former players, after they have graduated from IU, continue succeeding in their future endeavors. This has been even more rewarding than our victories and bowl games. I will always be thankful and appreciative to have been a part of the program I dearly love, Indiana University football."
Mallory is also a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (1993), the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame (1980), the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame (as coach of the 1983 team in 1995 and as a football coach in 1999), the Phi Kappa Tau Hall of Fame, Miami University's "Cradle of Coaches" Association (1995) and the MAC Hall of Fame (2013).
A pillar in the Bloomington community, Mallory remained active in retirement through volunteerism and altruism. He was a regular at Hoosier football practices and games, as recently as this past year.
"Coach Mallory is not the greatest coach in the history of IU Football because of all the games that he won," said Indiana head coach Tom Allen. "It is because of the kind of man that he was and the kind of person that he was in the hearts of his players. He did a tremendous job molding them into men. In my mind, he is and will always be what Indiana University Football is all about."
The Sandusky, Ohio, native played football at Miami for coaches Ara Parseghian and John Pont. He won three varsity letters, earned first-team All-MAC honors (1956) and served as team co-captain (1956).
Mallory posted a record of 39-12 (.765) at Miami. His 1973 team went an unblemished 11-0, defeated Florida in the Tangerine Bowl and was ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll.
After his tenure in Oxford, Mallory became the head coach at Colorado. During his five years in Boulder, he led the Buffaloes to 35-21-1 (.623) mark. His squads played in two bowl games (1975 and 1976) and captured the 1976 Big Eight title.
In his four campaigns at Northern Illinois, Mallory collected an overall record of 25-19 (.568). The 1983 Huskies won the MAC title (8-1, 10-2 overall) and defeated Cal State Fullerton in the California Bowl.
Mallory is survived by his wife Ellie, sons Mike (Jacksonville Jaguars assistant special teams coordinator; wife Kim), Doug (Atlanta Falcons defensive backs coach; wife Lisa) and Curt (Indiana State University head football coach; wife Lori), daughter Barbara (husband James), 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Mallory served 13 years at the helm of the Hoosiers and compiled a record of 69-77-3. After an 0-11 initial season, he ran off a 69-66-3 mark that featured seven winning seasons and six bowl appearances, both program records for an IU head coach, and included victories in the 1988 Liberty Bowl and the 1991 Copper Bowl.
"The entire Indiana University family is deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Mallory," IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass said. "Bill was not only a Hall of Fame football coach, but also an extraordinary man who has had an immeasurable impact on countless individuals throughout the course of his career and life. Bill's passion for the sport of football was matched only by his love of his players, his coaches, and most of all, his family. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to know him and his wonderful family. IU Athletics extends our heartfelt condolences to Ellie, Curt, Doug, Mike, Barbara and the entire Mallory family. Bill will be missed by many, but never forgotten."
The 2002 Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame inductee coached six first or second team All-Americans, two first round NFL draft picks and two players (Anthony Thompson, 2nd and Vaughn Dunbar, 6th) who finished in the top six in the Heisman Trophy voting. In 1987, Mallory became the first Big Ten coach to be awarded back-to-back Coach of the Year honors.
That same campaign, he led the Hoosiers to an 8-4 record, a second place Big Ten finish and a Peach Bowl appearance. Capped by its Liberty Bowl triumph, IU netted consecutive eight win seasons for the first time with an 8-3-1 ledger and concluded 1988 ranked 20th in the Associated Press (AP) Poll.
"Coach Mal was respected like none other. Revered, in fact," Thompson, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said. "The kind of respect and reverence that is earned through love and leadership. Not because of a title or being in a position of power. Rather it's because he led with every fiber of his being along with his booming voice, his locked jaw and his whole heart."
Mallory compiled a 168-129-4 (.565) career record at Miami University (1969-73), the University of Colorado (1974-78), Northern Illinois University (1980-83) and Indiana (1984-96). With the Hoosiers, Mallory became the fifth coach ever to guide three different programs to top 20 finishes in the national polls, joining Paul "Bear" Bryant, Dan Devine, Bowden Wyatt and Lou Holtz.
He earned his conference's Coach of the Year recognition on four occasions: 1973 (MAC), 1983 (MAC), 1986 (Big Ten) and 1987 (Big Ten). Mallory was honored as the Kodak District Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1987, and he was head coach of 1993 East Team in the East-West Shrine Bowl.
In Mallory's 27 seasons as a head coach, his teams defeated a dozen top 25 ranked programs, including both No. 9 Ohio State and No. 20 Michigan in 1987. He is the only Hoosiers coach to defeat both schools in the same season. Additionally, Mallory hoisted the Old Oaken Bucket seven times in 13 meetings with Purdue.
"I will always appreciate the opportunity given to me to be the head football coach at Indiana University," Mallory said at his IU Athletics Hall of Fame induction. "I cherish all of the people with whom I was associated during my 13-year tenure at IU. Those people were my coaching staff, the players, the support staff, the administration, the faculty, and the loyal Hoosier supporters. These people made my experience at IU very enjoyable and rewarding. It has also been very rewarding to watch my former players, after they have graduated from IU, continue succeeding in their future endeavors. This has been even more rewarding than our victories and bowl games. I will always be thankful and appreciative to have been a part of the program I dearly love, Indiana University football."
Mallory is also a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (1993), the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame (1980), the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame (as coach of the 1983 team in 1995 and as a football coach in 1999), the Phi Kappa Tau Hall of Fame, Miami University's "Cradle of Coaches" Association (1995) and the MAC Hall of Fame (2013).
A pillar in the Bloomington community, Mallory remained active in retirement through volunteerism and altruism. He was a regular at Hoosier football practices and games, as recently as this past year.
"Coach Mallory is not the greatest coach in the history of IU Football because of all the games that he won," said Indiana head coach Tom Allen. "It is because of the kind of man that he was and the kind of person that he was in the hearts of his players. He did a tremendous job molding them into men. In my mind, he is and will always be what Indiana University Football is all about."
The Sandusky, Ohio, native played football at Miami for coaches Ara Parseghian and John Pont. He won three varsity letters, earned first-team All-MAC honors (1956) and served as team co-captain (1956).
Mallory posted a record of 39-12 (.765) at Miami. His 1973 team went an unblemished 11-0, defeated Florida in the Tangerine Bowl and was ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll.
After his tenure in Oxford, Mallory became the head coach at Colorado. During his five years in Boulder, he led the Buffaloes to 35-21-1 (.623) mark. His squads played in two bowl games (1975 and 1976) and captured the 1976 Big Eight title.
In his four campaigns at Northern Illinois, Mallory collected an overall record of 25-19 (.568). The 1983 Huskies won the MAC title (8-1, 10-2 overall) and defeated Cal State Fullerton in the California Bowl.
Mallory is survived by his wife Ellie, sons Mike (Jacksonville Jaguars assistant special teams coordinator; wife Kim), Doug (Atlanta Falcons defensive backs coach; wife Lisa) and Curt (Indiana State University head football coach; wife Lori), daughter Barbara (husband James), 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
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