Football
Legendary Bears coach Harold Horton passes away at 85
Coached Bears to multiple national championships, recruited, coached and headed Razorback Foundation for years
CONWAY, Ark. — The Central Arkansas family lost a coaching and administrative legend at two universities on Saturday with the passing of Harold Horton.
He passed away Saturday after a lengthy illness at the age of 85.
Listing all of his titles and contributions in the opening would make it too long. He was a good halfback for the Arkansas Razorbacks and won everywhere he coached after his playing days. He was a winner.
Horton, a member of the UCA Sports Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, coached the Bears to seven consecutive AIC football championships from 1983-1989, and to two NAIA National Championships in 1984 and 1985.
Horton was a high school coach and then an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas, for 13 seasons before coming to UCA in 1982.
He compiled a remarkable 74-12-5 overall record as the Bears’ head coach, and went 45-3-2 in conference play. The Bears won their final 38 regular-season games under Horton’s guidance.
He left UCA after the 1989 season as the winningest football coach in school history, and returned to his alma mater in 1990 to serve in several different administrative roles within the football program, the athletic department and as president of the Razorback Foundation.
The biggest mark Horton made at the Foundation was raising money. He knew supporters of all levels by their first name and would call them personally when they were in the midst of a campaign for various projects. No one has ever done it better.
Horton was a master recruiter, too. At Arkansas he landed players like All-American Dan Hampton out of Jacksonville who later was an All-Pro with the Chicago Bears. Hampton is a member of the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame. There were others, too.
Horton was born in 1939 in DeWitt, Ark. In 1956 he was an all-state halfback for the DeWitt Dragons.
Horton lettered as a defensive halfback for the Razorbacks in 1960 and 1961 under legendary Razorbacks coach and athletics director Frank Broyles and then went into coaching.
He initially coached at Bald Knob and Forrest City compiling a record of 43-15-3.
