(Photo courtesy of University of Alabama) From News 12: Former college coach and administrator Steve Sloan, who played quarterback and served as athl
(Photo courtesy of University of Alabama)
From News 12: Former college coach and administrator Steve Sloan, who played quarterback and served as athletic director at Alabama, has died at 79, his longtime friend Tommy Limbaugh told The Associated Press on Monday. Sloan was also an outstanding athlete at Bradley Central High School winning both a football and basketball state title in the early 60’s.
Sloan died Sunday with his wife, Brenda Faw Sloan, by his side after three months of memory care at Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Florida, Limbaugh said.
Sloan led Alabama to the 1965 national championship after taking over for Joe Namath, winning most valuable player honors in an Orange Bowl defeat of Nebraska.
Sloan coached Vanderbilt for two seasons and was Southeastern Conference coach of the year in 1974 before leaving to take over the Texas Tech program. He also had head coaching stints at Mississippi and Duke and finished his coaching career as Vandy’s offensive coordinator in 1990.
“You will never find anybody that says anything bad about Steve Sloan,” Limbaugh said. “You can’t find that person.”
A consensus All-American, Sloan was also named the SEC’s most valuable player in the 1965 season and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation’s best passer.
He worked as athletic director at Alabama, North Texas, Central Florida and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He is survived by his wife and his son Stephen Jr. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
Bradley Central sports historian Gary Ownbey says Sloan was a superb athlete and a superb gentleman.
Said Ownbey:”He was a great athlete. The story goes. One of the guys here built a shopping center. Challenged him to a game of bowling, which Sloan had never done. This guy owned the bowling alley, and bowled a lot. He said I’ll get him at something because he can’t do this well. Sloan smoked him on that one. I just think his modesty and his humbleness and his Christian life that he lived is what is the most impressive thing. We have that Steve Sloan award announced here at Bradley Central every year, and it goes to the person with the best grades, athletic ability, multi-sport athlete, and living the Christian life too. He was heavily involved in that. He was so proud because every year when that was announced, he would say I need to know who that is because I’m going to write them a letter. He’d write a really nice letter congratulating them on that. Never taking credit for anything that he did. He was just so modest about everything. That’s just the kind of person he was you know.”
