Grant Teaff

When Grant Teaff was named executive director of the American Football Coaches Association in February 1994, he approached his new role as any good coach would: he formulated a master game plan.  During his tenure with the Association, Teaff has executed that game plan at a championship level and in the process has become one of the most effective administrators at the intercollegiate level.  In 2002, The Sporting News ranked Teaff as one of the most powerful administrators in college football.

In 2001 Teaff was also awarded for his on-field success as a coach as he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Teaff’s willingness to address controversial issues affecting the game has resulted in increased respect and a higher profile for the Association.
He has become an eloquent spokesman in college football’s on-going campaign to challenge the interpretation of guidelines used to enforce Title IX that are having negative repercussions on football and other men’s sports.  Earlier this year, he was named the vice-chair of an NCAA committee studying gambling problems on college campuses. He also played a vital role in the NCAA’s study of current recruiting rules.

One of Teaff’s first actions after being named executive director was to tackle the on-going battles over scholarship reductions and the elimination of spring practice. The AFCA has been successful on both fronts.  Scholarship levels have remained the same at the Division I-A, I-AA and Division II levels, and after a year-long study, the AFCA presented a new spring practice model that has been implemented by the NCAA.

One of Teaff’s recent projects involved the creation of the American Football Coaches Foundation, which assists in funding programs designed to improve the game and profession at all levels.

In 2000, the NCAA approved a new football recruiting calendar that was devised by the AFCA. The new calendar was created by a committee of AFCA-member head coaches and assistant coaches. The calendar went into effect in 2001.

In 1998, the AFCA began a scholarship program that donated a total of $165,000 to the schools of the winners of the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award, AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award, the AFCA Coaches’ Trophy and NCAA and NAIA football playoff champions.  With the elimination of the preseason Pigskin Classic (which funded the scholarships), this program has come under the scope of the American Football Coaches Foundation in the form of a grant program that rewards assistant coaches at the championship and Coach of the Year schools.

In 1999, the AFCA joined with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to contribute to NACDA’s John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award. The AFCA is contributing $100,000 over five years to the program, which awards one scholarship each year to a minority student who intends to pursue a career in athletics administration.

Teaff played an important role in a successful attempt by college coaches and administrators to eliminate a rash of fighting incidents and to enforce rules that banned showboating and taunting and other unsportsmanlike acts.  The change proved so successful that the NFL adopted the part of the taunting rule that prohibits players from removing their helmets on the field.

After several incidents involving unscrupulous sports agents made headlines, Teaff organized a sports agent “summit” at the 1996 AFCA Convention. The summit clarified issues and developed practical solutions in regard to the issue.

Teaff knows the importance of creating platforms to display the game.  In 1997, the AFCA joined with the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the Collegiate Commissioners Association to form NCAA Football.  This nationwide program was developed to improve, preserve and promote the game of football for those who play the game, those who coach the game and for those who support the game.

The AFCA debuted a Division III Coaches’ Poll in 1999 and the Division II Coaches Poll in 2000. The weekly Top 25 rankings are featured in USA Today during the season.

In 1996, “Inside College Football,” hosted by Teaff, debuted on the Fox Sports Network.  The three and one-half hours of programming highlighted the college game and the profession under the banner of the AFCA.  That program was the forerunner of “NCAA Football: The Slant,” which aired on Fox Sports Net.

In 1997, the AFCA introduced its Assistant Coach of the Year Award, which is presented each year to one deserving assistant coach in each NCAA division and the NAIA.  The winners are selected based on criteria that includes off-the-field community service activities as well as on-the-field performance.

In 1998, Baylor renamed its football and track facilities the Grant Teaff Athletic Complex.  Also, Baylor put the finishing touches on the Grant Teaff Plaza in 2002, including an eight-foot tall statue honoring the Bears’ long-time head coach.  The Plaza is located at the base of the press box at Floyd Casey Stadium.

In 1993, as he was moving into his present position, Teaff received awards from five different organizations: the Baylor University Athletics Hall of Honor; the Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic Hall of Fame; the Gen. Robert R. Neyland Memorial Award; the Football Writers Association of America Achievement Award; and the Morris Frank “Touchdowner of the Year” Award.

Teaff was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year six times and earned AFCA National Coach of the Year national honors in 1974 when he produced “the Miracle on the Brazos.”  That year, he took Baylor to its first SWC title in 50 years and its first appearance in the Cotton Bowl.

Teaff-coached Baylor teams appeared in eight bowls.  Among his most impressive teams are Baylor’s two SWC champions, the 1974 (8-4) and 1980 (10-2) Cotton Bowl teams. His 1985 and ’86 teams had identical 9-3 records and won the Liberty Bowl and the Bluebonnet Bowl, against LSU and Colorado, respectively.

Teaff has done more than tutor his players well, he has seen 11 of his former assistant coaches go on to head coaching positions at the college level.  Teaff coached in 12 all-star games while at Baylor: East-West Shrine (3); Blue-Gray (3); Hula Bowl (4); AFCA Coaches’ All-America Game (1) and Japan Bowl (1).

Teaff began his coaching career in 1956 as an assistant at Lubbock (Tex.) High School.  He moved to McMurry as an assistant football coach and head track coach in 1957 and became head football coach in 1960, while continuing to coach track.  He later made career moves that led to Baylor.

Raised in the West Texas town of Snyder, Teaff graduated from Snyder High School in 1951. After two years at San Angelo (Tex.) Junior College, he earned his undergraduate degree in physical education at McMurry in 1956 and one year later earned his M.S. in Administrative Education. He received a Doctor of Humanities degree from McMurry in 1975.  A team captain at all levels, Teaff lettered every year he was at San Angelo and McMurry. He was an All-Texas Conference linebacker at McMurry.

Teaff and his wife, Donell, a former Texas Tech cheerleader, have three daughters, Tammy Bookbinder, Layne Pittman and Tracy Teaff, all Baylor graduates; and four grandchildren, Joshua and Jessica Bookbinder, Jake Grant and Elijah John Pittman.

Teaff has a reputation as one of the finest motivational speakers in the country and serves as a leadership consultant to school systems, universities and corporations.

Teaff has written four books: I Believe, Winning, Seasons of Glory and Coaching in the Classroom.