Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1990
Frank Jones was head football coach from 1966 to 1973 and also served as director of athletics for seven years. He was the first coach in UR history to record two eight-win seasons. Frank was named Southern Conference Coach-of-the-Year following the 1967, '68 and '71 league championship seasons. He guided Spiders to two Tangerine Bowl appearances, the only Division I Top 20 appearance in the University's history. He compiled a 44-30-0 record over his eight year career as head coach.
He served as director of athletics for seven years from 1967-74. After coaching with great success in Georgia high schools, Jones was picked for the head football coach and athletic director's job at Presbyterian. His teams won the Little Four championship in 1958, 1959, and 1960. He was Coach of the Year in South Carolina in 1958 and 1959 and runner-up for the award in 1960. He then went to Mississippi State and served as assistant head coach from 1962 to 1965. The 1963 State squad went to the Liberty Bowl and posted their best record since 1946. The, in 1966, came the call from Richmond.
When he joined the Spiders, Richmond had the longest losing streak in the nation. That streak was broken in 1966, and the Spiders had a good year against tough opposition. In 1967, he guided the Spiders to a surprising 5-2 Southern Conference mark, and won his first Southern Conference Coach of the Year award. Despite 26 sophomore, the team finished 5-5. The Spiders went to their first bowl game in 1968. The Tangerine Bowl bid came after a perfect 6-0 Southern Conference mark and a 7-3 overall mark. The 49-42 victory over Ohio University capped the Spiders' best football season in thirty years. He won his second Southern Conference Coach of the Year award and was also named Coach of the Year for District Three by the American Football Coaches Association. His 1969 team tied with Davidson for the Southern Conference championship. He is a native of Macon, GA., and a 1948 graduate of North Carolina.
