Jax State Coach Respects Gators,Muschamp,Pell

[Okeechobee Joe]

Jacksonville State Head Coach Jack Crowe makes some nice comments that should be of interest to Gator fans concerning the Gators, Coach Will Muschamp and Coach Charley Pell.

As you know, Charley Pell started out coaching at Jacksonville State and just as he did at the University of Florida, he turned the Gamecocks from a losing program into a winning one. Coach Crowe, in the interview, mentions Charley Pell's wife, Ward, and wonders if Mrs. Pell will be sitting on the Jacksonville State side or the Florida side. (Side note: nobody will be asking Ben Hill Griffin which side Mrs. Pell will sit on because Mr. Griffin is dead.) Crowe goes on to give a little bit of the background on Coach Pell and his time at Jacksonville State.

A few words about Jacksonville State. It is a state university located in the northern part of Alabama in the small town of Jacksonville close to Gadsden, Charley Pell's old stomping ground. Jacksonville State bills itself as "the Friendliest School in the South."

Jacksonville State is also famous for its great marching band the "Marching Southerners" who have appeared in parades in London and other parts of the world. The "Marching Southerners" I believe are making the trip to Gainesville. I just put that in because I know a lot of you get off on marching bands.

Well, whether you like college football marching bands or not, Jacksonville State is a class act.

And if you listen to the entire interview, I hope we get our stingers out early and often. Go Gators!

[TN G8tr]

Class Act and great man. Very nice and respectful opponent. Great find Joe!

[UFever]

Thanks, Joe, that was good. Class guy.

[Dugaboy]

Good post Joe, as always. Listening to Jack Crowe - it is rem

Remarkable how much he sounds like Charlie Pell....

Didn't Jack Crowe play at Arkansas too?

[ShowMeLove]

[WobbleGator]

+1

[Cold Blooded Reptile]

Here's Crowe's bio from Wikipedia. Note his tenure as head coach at Arkansas.

Jack Crowe (born May 2, 1947) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a position he has held since 2000. Crowe served as the head football coach at the University of Arkansas from 1990 to 1992 season. Crowe was also the head coach at Livingston University, now known as the University of West Alabama, from 1977 to 1978. He served as offensive coordinator for head coach Pat Dye at both Wyoming and Auburn. In addition, Crowe has served as an assistant coach at the University of North Alabama, Clemson University and Baylor University. Jack Crowe is married to Leann Crowe.

Crowe first came to Arkansas in 1989 as offensive coordinator under Ken Hatfield. Hatfield left for Clemson University a month after the season ended--far too late to find a big-name coach. More or less out of desperation, athletic director Frank Broyles persuaded Crowe to drop his plans to follow Hatfield to Clemson and take over as head coach of the Razorbacks. The decision came as something of a surprise, since Crowe had only won five games in two seasons at Livingston. By the start of the season, the Razorbacks had seen Barry Foster give up his senior season to enter the 1990 NFL Draft and had lost numerous other players to disciplinary and academic problems. Under the circumstances, the Razorbacks struggled to a 3-8 record. They barely qualified for a bowl in 1991.[1]

After the Razorbacks opened the 1992 season with an upset loss to a Division I-AA team, The Citadel, Broyles announced that Crowe had resigned and that defensive coordinator Joe Kines would coach the Razorbacks for the rest of the season.[2] However, Crowe's lawyer subsequently told Sports Illustrated that Crowe had been fired, and Broyles admitted that he'd fired Crowe due to concern that the fans no longer had confidence in him.[1]

At Jacksonville State, Crowe has won two official conference titles. He would have won a third in 2009, but the Gamecocks were stripped of the title and banned from postseason play due to the team's poor academic performance. He also coached Ashley Martin, the first woman to play and score in a NCAA football game and the second woman to play and score in a college game in any division.[3]

Crowe's 2010 Jacksonville State team pulled a major upset to start the season, beating Houston Nutt's Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, 49–48 in double overtime. Nutt was an assistant under Crowe when Crowe was fired from Arkansas.