FRANK SOLICH NAMED NEW OHIO FOOTBALL COACH
Bobcats Land Veteran With Successful Track Record
Contact: Jim Stephan
12/16/2004
ATHENS, Ohio – The search for Ohio University’s 28th head football coach has culminated in the return of Frank Solich to his native state. The 60-year-old Cleveland native comes to Ohio with an impressive resume, including a .753 winning percentage during six seasons as head coach at Nebraska.
Solich directed the Cornhusker program to six consecutive bowl games, including the national championship game in the 2002 Rose Bowl. Nebraska won at least nine games in five of those six seasons, and finished among the top 10 teams in the nation three times.
A highly-respected member of the college football coaching fraternity, Solich has signed a multi-year agreement to coach the Bobcats. His annual base salary is $240,000.
“We are thrilled that Frank Solich will lead the Ohio football program into a new era and reclaim the winning tradition in Peden Stadium,” said Ohio Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh. “For many years we have talked about the characteristics that we look for when recruiting and hiring a head coach and Frank, without question, embodies the 'whole package.' His 38-year track record relative to integrity, leadership, commitment to academic success, and winning football programs makes him the dream choice for Ohio.”
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.
Solich’s teams have excelled on and off the field. Nebraska counted 11 All-Americans during Solich’s six seasons as head coach and saw 30 players chosen in the NFL Draft. Twenty-six student-athletes earned first-team All-Big 12 honors; seven earned first-team Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors; and 123 earned first-team academic all-conference honors.
“Ohio University athletics has a strong and proud tradition,” said Ohio President Dr. Roderick McDavis. “When we build on that tradition, the entire university benefits. Elevating the stature of our football program and our student-athletes is just another demonstration of our commitment to excellence across the entire institution.”
Prior to succeeding Tom Osborne as head coach, Solich spent 19 seasons as an assistant under Osborne. He was tabbed Athlon Magazine’s Assistant Coach of the Year before the start of the 1993 season. Serving 15 seasons as running backs coach, Solich recruited and coached 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier and produced at least one all-conference running back in 13 of those 15 seasons.
Twenty-four years on the Husker staff have shown Solich to be one of the nation’s top recruiters. Many players Solich recruited to Nebraska went on to professional careers, including Rozier, Irving Fryar, Mike Croel and Tyrone Legette. As a head coach, four of his first five recruiting classes were ranked in the nation’s top 20.
In Solich’s 19 years as an assistant, the Huskers captured three national championships, all with Solich as assistant head coach. Nebraska also won 11 league championships.
Solich has enjoyed tremendous coaching success at all levels. 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, one of the state’s top high school programs. 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.
A native of Cleveland, 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. 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.
Solich is married to the former Pamela Wieck, of Beatrice, Neb., 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.
