ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME KEN STEPHENS

Former Bear one of Conway’s best

Ken Stephens
Ken Stephens

Ken Stephens called Richard Martin into his office before the 1974 season.

Stephens was going into his third season as the University of Central Arkansas’ football coach, and he wanted Martin to move from wide receiver to defensive end to take advantage of his speed even though Martin was going into his senior season.

“I thought he was running me off,” Martin said.

Martin made the switch, went on to become an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference honorable mention selection and learned to appreciate Stephens’ ability to put people, whether it be players or assistant coaches, in the right places.

“My job every snap was to go to the quarterback,” Martin said. “I enjoyed it.”

Getting his players to play their best and his coaches to coach were trademarks of Stephens’ enduring and successful career, one that has helped earn him a spot in the 2014 class that will be inducted Feb. 28 in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Stephens’ career included 20 years as head coach in college, eight enormously successful seasons as head coach at North Little Rock High School and one year as an assistant to Frank Broyles at Arkansas, but one of the greatest testaments to his career is the success of the players he once coached at UCA who entered the coaching profession.

They include:

Charlie Strong of Batesville, who led Louisville to a 2013 Orange Bowl victory and was hired at Texas last month. Strong played for Stephens in 1980 and 1981 at Central Arkansas.

John Thompson, who led Arkansas State to GoDaddy Bowl victories following the 2012 and 2013 seasons as an interim coach and has served as a defensive coordinator at several schools.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coach Monte Coleman, who led the Golden Lions to the 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. Coleman won three Super Bowl championships with the Redskins.

Martin might not have gained the notoriety of someone like Strong or Coleman, who played at UCA in the late 1970s before going on to his distinguished career with the Redskins, but he coached for Stephens for six seasons (1976-1981) before leading UCA’s track and field program for 27 years.

“He was an athlete’s coach,” Martin said of Stephens. “He was very hard on his coaches. He was a hard coach, but a fair coach.”

He was a pretty fair athlete during his day, too.

Stephens, 82, was a star football and track athlete at Conway High School where he won the high-point award in the Arkansas state high school track meet as a senior.

Stephens stayed in Conway to attend UCA, then called Arkansas State Teachers College. He won four AIC championships in the 120-yard high hurdles and was a tailback and defensive back, where he intercepted five passes as a senior in 1951.

“But track was my best sport,” Stephens said.

There is no doubt that football was where he left his mark as a coach.

Stephens was an assistant at Crossett, Bethany (Okla.), Walnut Ridge, Conway, Arkansas State and Morrilton before leading North Little Rock to three state championships (1965, 1966, 1970), going undefeated in 1965.

“We had a lot of great athletes,” Stephens said. “The coaching staff was second to none.”

But Stephens left the Charging Wildcats after the 1970 season for a one-year stay on Broyles’ staff at Arkansas.

The UCA position opened after the 1971 season, and Stephens said at first he hadn’t thought about applying for the job. He eventually changed his mind, and he was hired before the 1972 season. His brother Bill served as defensive coordinator for one year before becoming the school’s track and field coach and later served as athletic director.

UCA, which had three consecutive losing seasons before Stephens arrived in Conway, became formidable.

Stephens went 67-35-6 in 10 seasons (1972-1981) and won four AIC championships (1976, 1978, 1980 and 1981). He led the Bears to the 1976 NAIA national championship game, but they lost to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

“We had the No. 1 defense in NAIA,” Stephens said. “We flew down there and got beat. That sticks with you.”

The Bears won three of the next five AIC championships, led by quarterback Randy Huffstickler, a three-time firstteam All-AIC selection.

“Those last four years were great years, and we won three titles in the last four years,” Stephens said. “They were easy to coach. We had good assistants.

“It was a great fit for us.”

Ken Stephens glance AGE 82 HOMETOWN Conway HIGH SCHOOL Conway COLLEGE Central Arkansas (1948-1952) HIGHLIGHTS Coached football at Conway High School, North Little Rock High School, Central Arkansas, Lamar and Arkansas Tech. … Led North Little Rock to three Arkansas state championships (1965, 1966, 1970) in eight seasons (1963-1970) before becoming an assistant under Frank Broyles at Arkansas in 1971. … Coached at UCA in 1972-1981. Led the Bears to eight winning seasons and four AIC titles (1976, 1978, 1980,1981). Guided UCA to the 1976 NAIA championship game. … Left UCA in 1982 to become coach at Lamar, where he didn’t have a winning season in four years. … Hired at Arkansas Tech in 1986. Finished 28-38-2 at ATU and retired after the 1992 season. … Inducted into the UCA Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2007.

Fourth in a series previewing members of the 2014 class who will be inducted Feb. 28 into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Sports, Pages 20 on 02/21/2014

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