Paul Franklin Dietzel (September 5, 1924 – September 24, 2013) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(1955–1961), the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

(1962–1965), and the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

(1966–1974), compiling a career head coaching record of 109–95–5. Dietzel's 1958 LSU team concluded an 11–0 season with a win over Clemson in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

and was a consensus national champion. For his efforts that year, Dietzel was named the National Coach of the Year by both the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

and the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

. Dietzel also served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at South Carolina (1966–1974),

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

(1977–1978), LSU (1978–1982), and

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

(1985–1987).

Playing career

Dietzel began his football career in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...

, where his high school team went undefeated and tied for second in the state. After high school, he was given a scholarship to play football at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. After one year at Duke, he served in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. From there he moved on to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

of Ohio, where he played

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for coach

Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wid ...

. He was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the 26th round of the

1948 NFL draft The 1948 NFL draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bears ineligible from t ...

Coaching career

After graduating from Miami in 1948, Dietzel began his coaching career as an assistant coach. He served under such legendary coaches as

Red Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

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 ...

and

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. In 1955, Dietzel became the head coach at LSU. During Dietzel's first three years, none of his teams had a winning season. In 1958, however, Dietzel came up with a unique three-team platoon system. It consisted of three teams of 11 different players, and was designed to keep his players from being fatigued in an era when most players started on both offense and defense. Instead of replacing individual players during the game, Dietzel would bring in an entirely new set of players between plays and series. The three teams were called the White Team (the first-string offense and defense), the Gold (Go) Team (the second-string offense), and the Chinese Bandits (the second-string defense). The system worked, as the Tigers went undefeated and won the national championship. The Chinese Bandits, the second-string defensive unit, which consisted of less-talented but ferocious players, became hugely popular with LSU fans and remains one of the most legendary pieces of LSU football history. After 1958, Dietzel continued to have success at LSU. His teams finished with 9–1 regular seasons in 1959 and 1961, finishing No. 3 and No. 4 in the final AP Poll. The 1959 team was ranked first in the country in both wire-service polls until losing to the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

, 14–13, in the eighth game of the season. LSU concluded the season with a 21–0 loss to

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

in the

, two months after the top-ranked Tigers beat the third-ranked Rebels 7–3 in Tiger Stadium on

Billy Cannon William Abb Cannon Sr. (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football halfback and tight end who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), wh ...

's 89-yard punt return, a play that helped win Cannon the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. Dietzel's final game as LSU's coach was the

1962 Orange Bowl The 1962 Orange Bowl was the 28th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1961–62 bowl game season, the No. 4 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

, in which LSU defeated the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

25–7. After the 1961 season, Dietzel accepted the head coaching job at Army. He was the first non-Army graduate to hold the position. In a 2005 article for the ''Concordia Sentinel'' of

Ferriday, Louisiana Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Concordia Parish, which borders the Mississippi River and is located on the central eastern border of Louisiana, United States. With a population of 3,511 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ...

, Dietzel said that leaving LSU was one of the hardest decisions he ever made. However, he was not able to match the success he had at LSU, compiling a record of 21–18–1 at Army. Dietzel stayed at Army until 1966, when he became head coach and

at the

. Despite coaching South Carolina to the school's only conference championship in football, the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

title in 1969, Dietzel's overall record was only of 42–53–1. In 1974, amid intense fan pressure, Dietzel announced that he would resign at the end of the season, following an upset loss to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

as the Gamecocks fell to 0–2.

Athletic administration career

As the South Carolina athletic director, Dietzel greatly improved the athletic facilities. During his tenure,

Carolina Stadium Founders Park, formerly known as Carolina Stadium, is a ballpark in Columbia, South Carolina on the banks of the Congaree River. The facility cost $35.6 million to build and is the home stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball, South Car ...

, renamed Williams-Brice Stadium in 1972, grew from 42,000 seats at his arrival to 54,000 seats at his retirement. He oversaw South Carolina's withdrawal from the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1971. Dietzel felt that the ACC's higher academic entrance requirements were preventing the South Carolina football program from signing talented players which could propel the program to national prominence. Dietzel has one other lasting legacy at South Carolina. During the first game of the 1968 season, Dietzel heard the school's band play an arrangement of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

show tune "Step to the Rear" from ''

How Now, Dow Jones ''How Now, Dow Jones'' is a musical comedy by Academy Award winner Elmer Bernstein, Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh and Max Shulman. The original Broadway production opened in December 1967. A critically acclaimed revised version premiered off ...

.'' Dietzel liked it so much that he decided it should be the school's new fight song, and proceeded to write a new set of lyrics to the tune.The Carolina Bands Collection: Series I: Sheet Music (1914-2000s): 1/12 "Step to the Rear."
The Music Library at the University of South Carolina website. Retrieved 1 December 2009. Later that season, the song, with Dietzel's lyrics, made its debut as " The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way", which has been Carolina's fight song ever since. Dietzel also designed the Fighting Gamecock logo which is still in use today. Dietzel left coaching in 1975 to become the commissioner of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

for one year. He then served as athletic director at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

before returning to LSU in 1978. He was the school's athletic director from 1978 to 1982. During Dietzel's second tenure in Baton Rouge, the men's basketball team won the 1978-79 SEC championship and reached the Final Four in 1981 under Dale Brown, who was hired by Dietzel's predecessor, Carl Maddox, in 1972. On the football field, Dietzel ushered his former assistant coach and successor,

Charles McClendon Charles Youmans McClendon (October 17, 1923 – December 6, 2001), also known as "Cholly Mac", was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1962 to 1979, compilin ...

, into retirement after 18 seasons at the helm, hiring

Bo Rein Robert Edward Rein (July 20, 1945 – January 10, 1980) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He was a two-sport athlete at Ohio State University and served as the head football coach at North Carolina State Universi ...

as McClendon's successor, then turning to former LSU All-American

Jerry Stovall Jerry Lane Stovall (born April 30, 1941), nicknamed "Mr. Everything", is an American former football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he was a unanimous selection to the ...

when Rein perished in a plane crash on January 10, 1980. Dietzel was fired on February 5, 1982 after it was revealed the LSU athletic department ran a $390,000 deficit during the 1980-81 school year, and the deficit would balloon into the millions over the next several years if severe corrective action was not taken. Dietzel also served as president of the

and the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international nonprofit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. History FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Oklahoma State College, Eastern Oklahoma A&M basketball c ...

. Dietzel came out of retirement in 1983 to become Athletics Director at Samford University. He resigned in 1985 following the dismissal of Head Football Coach Kim Alsop over his objections.

Later life

After retiring from college athletics, Dietzel became a

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

painter. He lived in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, with his wife, Anne, until his death. In 2005, Dietzel, along with timber industrialist Roy O. Martin, Jr., the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

pioneer

Andrew Young Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christia ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Cou ...

, and the LSU woman's basketball coach

Sue Gunter Sue Gunter (May 22, 1939 – August 4, 2005) was an American women's college basketball coach. She is best known as the head coach of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Lady Tigers basketball team. Gunter was inducted into the Women's Basketb ...

were named a "Louisiana Legend" by

Louisiana Public Broadcasting Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of Louisiana. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, an agency c ...

. Dietzel authored a book, ''Call Me Coach: A Life in College Football'', that was published in September 2008 by the

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...

. He died on September 24, 2013, nineteen days after his 89th birthday. His namesake grandson, Paul Dietzel, II, of Baton Rouge was a Republican candidate for the

open seat The Barcelona Open (currently sponsored by Banc Sabadell) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event was founded in 1953 as a combined men's and women's tournament until 1980. It is played at the Real Club de Tenis B ...

from Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

held on November 4, 2014.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietzel, Paul 1924 births 2013 deaths American football centers Army Black Knights football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Indiana Hoosiers athletic directors Kentucky Wildcats football coaches LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers athletic directors LSU Tigers football coaches Miami RedHawks football players Ohio Valley Conference commissioners Samford Bulldogs athletic directors South Carolina Gamecocks athletic directors South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Fremont, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Sigma Alpha Epsilon members Presidents of the American Football Coaches Association