Frank Solich

College coach infobox
Name = Frank Solich


Caption =
DateOfBirth = Birth date and age|1944|9|8|mf=y
Birthplace = Johnstown, Pennsylvania
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = Ohio
Title = Head Coach
CurrentRecord = 20-23 (14-13 MAC)
OverallRecord = 78-42
Awards =
Championships =
CFbDWID = 2195
Player = Y
Years = 1962-65
Team = Nebraska
Position = Fullback
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1998-2003
2005-Present
CoachTeams = Nebraska
Ohio
FootballHOF =

Frank Solich (born September 8, 1944 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is the head football coach of the Ohio Bobcats. He also was once a fullback and later the head coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Background information

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Solich prepped at Holy Name High School where he earned all-state, All-America and all-scholastic honors. He was a part of Bob Devaney’s first recruiting class at Nebraska, and became a standout for the Huskers in the mid-1960’s, where he earned the nickname "Fearless Frankie". An All-Big Eight fullback and co-captain of the Huskers’ 1965 team, his playing career earned him induction into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1992. In NU's 27-17 win over Air Force in 1965, he ran for 204 yards on 17 carries, becoming the first Husker to run for 200 yards in a game, and subsequently the first Husker to be featured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated".

Solich is married to the former Pamela Wieck, of Beatrice, Nebraska, and they have two children, Cindy and Jeff. Cindy and her husband, Jon Dalton, have a daughter, Catherine, and two sons, Aaron and Jacob. Jeff and his wife Chara have a son, Cade.

High school coaching

He began his career in the Nebraska prep ranks, as head coach at Holy Name High School in Omaha in 1966 and 1967. His 1967 team was state runner-up. Solich then moved to Lincoln Southeast. In 11 years at Southeast, he compiled a record of 66-33-5 while capturing back-to-back Class A state titles in 1976 and 1977.

Nebraska roots

Solich later spent many more years back at the University of Nebraska as an assistant coach and later the head coach.

Solich spent 19 seasons as an assistant under Tom Osborne. In Solich’s 19 years as an assistant, the Huskers captured three national championships. Nebraska also won 11 conference titles.

Solich coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1998-2003. He directed the Cornhusker program to six consecutive bowl games, including the national championship game in the Rose Bowl following the 2001 season. Nebraska won at least nine games in five of those six seasons, and finished among the top 10 teams in the nation three times. Solich compiled a 58 - 19 record at Nebraska.

Solich's 1999 Nebraska team defeated the University of Texas for the Big XII Conference championship. Solich claimed Big 12 Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors in both 1999 and 2001, and was one of seven finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach-of-the-Year Award in 2001.

For the first five years as head coach, Solich called all offensive plays. His offenses centered on the option. He also devised such plays as the Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass which became a highlight of Eric Crouch's Heisman-winning season in 2001.

After a 7-7 season in 2002, the Huskers' worst record since 1961, Solich shook up his staff. He gave up offensive play-calling duties to newly hired offensive coordinator Barney Cotton and brought in Bo Pelini, the linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers, as defensive coordinator. 2003 began with Nebraska starting out 5-0, before suffering three key losses later in the year; 41-24 to Missouri, 31-7 to Texas and 38-9 to Kansas State. After the final game of the regular season, Solich was fired by new athletic director Steve Pederson, who justified the move by stating he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" and would not "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas" [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3064861 Pederson fired; Nebraska chancellor cites lack of football progress] ] . Pederson was ultimately fired four years later, largely as a result of the direction the football program took following the hire of Bill Callahan as Solich's replacement [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=3065080 Pederson lacked support to keep him in power] ] . Six weeks after the firing of Pederson, Callahan was also dismissed.

Solich's time at Ohio University

After taking one season off, Solich was hired at Ohio University, and his impact on the football program was immediate. Plans were quickly put in place to renovate the football facilities and increase financial support for the football program. Also, Ohio was selected to appear on national television 6 times for the 2005 football season, a record for the program. Frank Solich's first home game as coach of the Ohio Bobcats was a memorable one, as Peden Stadium brought in its largest ever crowd on September 9, 2005, when 24,545 fans were in attendance to watch the Bobcats defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers 16-10. The Pitt-Ohio game also ranks among the most viewed regular season college football games ever on ESPN2. While the Bobcat's 2005 record under Solich (4-7) was the same as the team's record in the previous year under Brian Knorr, in 2006 Solich led the Bobcats to a 9-5 record including a MAC East Division Title and a GMAC Bowl bid. The bowl game, which Ohio lost to Southern Mississippi, 28-7, was the program's first bowl appearance since 1968.

In the 2007 season the Bobcats took a step backward and finished with a record of 6-6. Two of those losses were by less than three points, and a third was a 28-7 loss to nationally ranked Virginia Tech. The Bobcats were one of 6 bowl eligible teams that missed the post-season.

On July 18, 2008, Solich was given an extension of his contract through the 2013 season.

Head coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Nebraska
startyear = 1998
conf = Big Twelve Conference
endyear = 2003CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1998 [ [http://huskerpedia.com/1990s.html HuskerPedia Nebraska Cornhuskers results 1990-1999] ]
name = Nebraska
overall = 9-4
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 2T ‡
bowlname = Holiday Bowl
bowloutcome = L 23-20
bcsbowl =
ranking = 20
ranking2 = 19CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1999
name = Nebraska
overall = 12-1
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1 ‡
bowlname = Fiesta Bowl
bowloutcome = W 31-21
bcsbowl = yes
ranking = 2
ranking2 = 3CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2000 [ [http://huskerpedia.com/1990s.html HuskerPedia Nebraska Cornhuskers results 2000-2009] ]
name = Nebraska
overall = 10-2
conference = 6-2
confstanding = 1T ‡
bowlname = Alamo Bowl
bowloutcome = W 66-17
bcsbowl =
ranking = 7
ranking2 = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2001
name = Nebraska
overall = 11-2
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1T ‡
bowlname = Rose Bowl
bowloutcome = L 37-14
bcsbowl = yes
ranking = 7
ranking2 = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2002
name = Nebraska
overall = 7-7
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 4 ‡
bowlname = Independence Bowl
bowloutcome = L 27-23
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2003
name = Nebraska
overall = 9-3*
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 2 ‡
bowlname = Alamo Bowl*
bowloutcome = W 17-3
bcsbowl =
ranking = 18
ranking2 = 19CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Nebraska
overall = 58-19
confrecord = 33-15* DC Bo Pelini coached bowl game after Solich was fired.‡ Big 12 North DivisionCFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Ohio
startyear = 2005
conf = Mid-American Conference
endyear = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2005 [ [http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/2005stand.html Vandelay Sports Ohio Results 2005] ]
name = Ohio
overall = 4-7
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 4 ◊
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = division
year = 2006 [ [http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/2006stand.html Vandelay Sports Ohio Results 2006] ]
name = Ohio
overall = 9-5
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1 ◊
bowlname = GMAC Bowl
bowloutcome = L 28-7
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2007 [ [http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/2007stand.html Vandelay Sports Ohio Results 2007] ]
name = Ohio
overall = 6-6
conference = 4-4
confstanding = 4T ◊
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = NR
ranking2 = NRCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2008
name = Ohio
overall = 1-5
conference = 0-2
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Ohio
overall = 20-23
confrecord = 14-13◊ Mid American East DivisionCFB Yearly Record End
overall = 78-42
bcs = no
poll = two
polltype = Coaches Poll (started in 1950)

External links

* [http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/solich_frank00.html Frank Solich Page on Ohiobobcats.com]
* [http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/ohio-m-footbl-body.html Ohio Bobcats Football]
* [http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121604aaa.html December 16 Press Release Announcing Solich's hire at Ohio]
* [http://bigrednetwork.com/archives/2006/07/frank_solich_instrumental_in_h.html Frank Solich Instrumental in Husker Success] Steve Hanway, bigrednetwork.com, July 5, 2006

References