William Meridas Meek (August 14, 1920 – May 28, 1998)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''.

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

. was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

from 1951 to 1954, the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

from 1955 to 1956,

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

(SMU) from 1957 to 1961), and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

from 1968 to 1973.

Early life

Meek was born in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, to Joseph A. Meek and Josephine E. Gaudiosi. His paternal grandmother was born in Germany, while his maternal grandparents emigrated from Italy. His family moved to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, in his youth. In college, he earned three letters playing as a back-up quarterback for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

; he graduated in 1943.

Coaching career

Meek had his first head coaching experience at age 22, with the

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

Doughboy football club in 1944, while serving in the Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Most of the starters on the team were members of the great

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

teams of the early 1940s, and the team defeated all opponents except for a 0–7 loss to

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

Marty Blake Marty Blake (March 22, 1927 – April 7, 2013) was a general manager of the Atlanta Hawks franchise, and the NBA's longtime Director of Scouting. He was a recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame's John Bunn Award. Life Born in Paterson, New ...

, later the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

director of scouting, was one of the team managers. Following the war, Meek left the Army with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Meek served as an assistant football coach throughout the remainder of the 1940s. From 1947 to 1950, he coached under Jim Tatum at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. During his tenure there, Meek was credited with the development of backs Ed Modzelewski and Bob Shemonski.Meek, Aide at Maryland U., Named Kansas State Coach
''Sunday Herald'', February 4, 1951. In 1951, Meek was offered his first collegiate head coaching position at

with an initial salary of $8,000. Meek was offered the job even though he told the hiring committee at Kansas State that the program was in disarray. His first season, he posted a 1–7–1 record, typical for Kansas State at the time. When he learned after the season that an ineligible player had participated, he self-reported the violation to the NCAA, and the school voluntarily forfeited the win and the tie. The following season, the squad went 1–9. Meek accepted the services of several former Army players who resigned from the academy after violating the honor code in 1951. In 1953, Kansas State posted a 6–3–1 record, the first winning season at the school since

Wes Fry Wesley Leonard "Cowboy" Fry (December 10, 1902 – November 11, 1970) was an American football player, coach of football and baseball, and professional football executive. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma City University in 1933 a ...

's 1936 team. After starting that season 5–1, K-State also received its first national ranking, at #18 in the

Coaches Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has ...

on October 28, 1953. The following year was even better, with Kansas State posting a 7–3 record and playing for an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

berth in their final game (they went on to lose at Colorado). Meek left Kansas State following the 1954 season, when the school refused to give raises to his assistants. Kansas State wouldn't have another winning record for 16 years. In January 1955, Meek took over as the head coach at the

. In two years at Houston, from 1955 to 1956, Meek compiled a 13–6–1 record. During his second season, Meek led the Cougars to the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

championship and was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year. In 1957, Meek took the job as head coach of the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

. During his tenure, from 1957 to 1961, he compiled a 17–29–4 record, while coaching All-American quarterback Don Meredith. By far his worst season at SMU was 1960, when his team went 0–9–1, with the only game decided by less than 10 points being a 0–0 tie with

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. From 1962 to 1967, Meek worked as an assistant coach, including stints as Director of Pro Personnel for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and as a scout for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. Meek was offensive coordinator for Army during the 1966 and 1967 seasons. Meek took his final coaching job in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, as head coach at the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. He guided the WAC team to a 33–31 record in six seasons, and his

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

team posted an record. Six weeks after the Utes'

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

season ended, Meek resigned in and assistant coach Tom Lovat, an alumnus, was promoted.

Death

Meek died on May 28, 1998.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Bill 1920 births 1998 deaths American football quarterbacks 300th Infantry Sabers football players Army Black Knights football coaches Dallas Cowboys scouts Denver Broncos executives Houston Cougars football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches SMU Mustangs football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players Utah Utes football coaches United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Players of American football from Waterbury, Connecticut Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Military personnel from Alabama American people of German descent American people of Italian descent