CONWAY -- Charlie Strong returned to the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday for a Night of Distinction, an annual ceremony to honor recipients of UCA's Distinguished Alumni and Alumni Service awards.
And Strong, a noted college football coach, was happy to be there.
"This is where I started," said Strong, who walked on at UCA in 1978 and became a three-time All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference safety. "When I think about my foundation, this is where it started. After the career that I had here, I was able to go into coaching. This is an unbelievable honor, and I can't say enough about this great university."
Strong, 56, best known nationally for his recent three-year stay as head coach at Texas, is now at South Florida, his third stop as a head coach in major college football.
"He is a nice advocate for us," UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague said. "He's proud of being a person who played here. We have some fantastic alums, and he's certainly one of them."
Strong, from Batesville, helped lead UCA to NAIA playoff appearances in 1980 and 1981, and it's an accomplishment that sticks with him, along with his honors as an All-AIC player.
"Everything I did here, I had to earn it," Strong said. "That's what I talk about when it comes to success, the hard work that has to go into it. It was about the enthusiasm and passion that you go about each and every day."
Strong began his coaching career with a brief stay at Henderson State before becoming a graduate assistant at Florida, one of four stints with the Gators.
He coached at five other schools from 1983-2009, including four seasons as defensive line coach at Notre Dame and four as defensive coordinator at South Carolina, before taking over as Louisville's head coach in 2010.
Strong famously became the Longhorns' first black head coach in 2014, taking over for Mack Brown, but he wasn't able to duplicate his success at Louisville, where he went 37-15 with three bowl victories in four seasons, including a 23-3 record over his final two seasons.
Texas was tougher.
The Longhorns went 6-7 in Strong's first season, ending with a 31-7 loss to Arkansas in the Texas Bowl. It was the Longhorns' only bowl appearance in Strong's three seasons.
Strong followed that up with 5-7 record in 2015, and the pressure on him to win in 2016 reached an intense level.
The season started with an upset victory over 10th-ranked Notre Dame and the Longhorns were 2-0 and ranked 11th nationally before stumbling to a 5-7 finish, including a loss at Kansas, which led to his Nov. 26 firing.
Strong didn't stay unemployed long, taking over at South Florida on Dec. 11, and said he has learned from each of his experiences, including those with disappointing results.
"You have to make sure you stay within yourself, and that you assess your weaknesses and make sure you can build on those," he said.
The South Florida opening came about when Willie Taggart posted an 11-2 regular-season record and took over for Mark Helfrich at Oregon.
Strong said he is familiar with the sort of pressure he will feel as he tries to build on the success at South Florida established by Taggart.
"There is always pressure," Strong said. "When you look at what Coach Taggart did, there's pressure, but he left a good team. Now, the only thing I can do is build on it. I have some really good players, so I should be able to build on it."
South Florida currently has 17 returning starters from 2016, and Strong said he is confident about his team's potential for success. He sounded eager after his time at Texas.
"I know what got me here, and nothing has really changed," Strong said. "I have another opportunity now, and I will build on that with what I know from before."
Sports on 04/30/2017