Frank Solich

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Frank Solich (born September 8, 1944 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA) is the head football coach of the Ohio Bobcats.

Contents

1 Solich's Time at Ohio
2 Background information
3 High school coaching
4 Nebraska roots
5 External Links

Solich's Time at Ohio

Solich's impact on the Ohio program was immediate, as plans were put in place to renovate Ohio's 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 Ohio 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. However, Ohio's 2005 record under Solich (4-7) was the same as the Bobcat's record in the previous year under Brian Knorr.

On Saturday, November 26, 2005, Solich was arrested by Athens City Police for Driving Under the Influence when he was found slumped over the wheel of his car asleep facing the wrong way on a one-way street. On Monday, November 29, 2005 Solich pleaded no contest in an Athens Courthouse, and on the next day Solich was placed on probation for the remainder of his contract and given three rules set by the school administration that he must follow in order for him to remain the head football coach at Ohio University.

On June 2, 2006, a request was filed with the Athens Municipal Court that asked the court to consider overturning Solich's conviction. The request was based on the possibility that Solich had been drugged with GHB prior to being found by police, a possibility suggested by the presence of GHB in a hair sample taken from Solich in January 2006. A hearing date is set for August 15.

Background information

Solich on the cover of Sports Illustrated, September 20, 1965.

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. 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 the 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, 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.

Nebraska roots

Prior to coming to Ohio, Solich spent many years as a part of the University of Nebraska football program, as a player, an assistant coach, and later as the head coach.

Solich was the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1998-2003. He 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.

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.

Despite his success, detractors point out that the program steadily declined from national prominence in each of his six seasons at the helm. After a stormy campaign in 2002 (7-7), he was fired by athletic director Steve Pederson despite rebounding in 2003 to a 9-3 record.

However, supporters of Solich believe that he was still capable of regaining Nebraska's status as one of the premier programs in the nation. They view his firing as a mistake. Indeed, some Solich supporters from Nebraska now regularly travel to Ohio home games as a sign of support for Solich. [link]

Prior to becoming 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, all with Solich as assistant head coach. Nebraska also won 11 conference titles.

External Links

[Frank Solich Page on Ohiobobcats.com]
[Ohio Bobcats Football]
[December 16 Press Release Announcing Solich's hire at Ohio]
[Frank Solich Instrumental in Husker Success] Steve Hanway, bigrednetwork.com, July 5, 2006

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