Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) was an

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

player, coach, and college athletics He was the head coach at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

from 1962 to 1964 and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

from 1965 to 1975, compiling a career record of A native of Oklahoma and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran, Andros played college football as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. After retiring from coaching, he was 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 an ...

at Oregon State from 1976 to 1985.

Early life, military service, and playing career

Born Demosthenes Konstandies Andrikopoulos in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, Andros was the second of three sons of a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

immigrant father. He graduated from Oklahoma City's Central High School in 1942, and then enlisted in the military at age seventeen during

.Goe, Ken. Dee Andros: 1924–2003 Handling heat a constant for OSU's 'Great Pumpkin'. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', October 23, 2003. Andros served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps; a

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

, he picked up a rifle and was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and spent more than a month under heavy fire on the island of Iwo Jima in 1945. He was present at the famed moment when six Marines raised the American flag on

Mount Suribachi is a -high mountain on the southwest end of Iwo Jima in the northwest Pacific Ocean under the administration of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The mountain's name derives from its shape, resembling a '' suribachi'' or grind ...

. Andros played college football at Oklahoma from 1946 to 1949, under hall of fame head coach Bud Wilkinson. He was selected in the 14th round (177th overall) by the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

in the 1950 NFL draft. Dee's older brother

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

was an All-American in 1946 at Oklahoma and played four years in the NFL for the Cardinals. His younger brother Gus (Dick) was a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer and choreographer.

Coaching career

Andros' coaching career included stops as an assistant at Oklahoma,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

s as an assistant were the Sun Bowl in January

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

with

and the Rose Bowl in January

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

with

Idaho

Andros became a head coach at age 37 at

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in February

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. He took over in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

for Skip Stahley, who stepped down after eight seasons and remained as athletic director. Andros' starting annual salary was just under The 1962 team was 2–6–1, but the following year he led Idaho to its first winning season (5–4) in a quarter century. The tenth and final game in 1963 at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

on November 23 was canceled, following the assassination of President Kennedy. The Vandals won their opener in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, but then lost four straight, the latter two were close ones to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. The loss to the Rose Bowl-bound Beavers in Corvallis came by a late third quarter OSU punt return. The Vandals rebounded and the next week won the

Battle of the Palouse The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the ...

for the first time in a decade, defeating neighbor

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

The Cougars were led by first-year head coach

Bert Clark Robert B. Clark Jr. (February 12, 1930 – December 13, 2004) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Washington State University for four seasons, from 1964 through 1967. Early life and playing career Born in Wichita ...

, a former Sooner teammate; the Vandals split the final four games to finish at 4–6. While Idaho had been a driving force in the founding of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

in 1963, it was primarily to alleviate

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

scheduling and the Vandals remained an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for football through 1964 under Andros. Only one conference foe was played during the first two Big Sky seasons, a 1963 game with

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

that was previously scheduled. Idaho was in the University Division, while the other Big Sky members were in the College Division (which became Division II in

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 15 – Vietnam War: ...

) for football. After Andros left, Idaho began conference play in 1965 under head coach

Steve Musseau Stephen Joseph Musseau Jr. (July 15, 1923 – December 28, 1997) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho for three seasons, from 1965 to 1967, compiling a record of 13–17. Following coachi ...

, Andros' defensive coordinator. Andros spent three years on the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...

at Idaho, with an overall record of . One of his first-year hires at Idaho in 1962 was alumnus Bud Riley then the head coach and athletic director at Lewiston High School, south of Moscow. A former Vandal halfback for

Dixie Howell Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Redski ...

, he coached the Idaho freshman team for Andros and went with him to OSU in 1965. Riley was a defensive assistant in Corvallis for eight years before moving on to the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

in 1973 and became a head coach the following year. His eldest son

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

(b.1953) was the head coach at Oregon State for fourteen seasons and later at

Oregon State

Andros was hired as the head coach at Oregon State in February He replaced the legendary

Tommy Prothro James Thompson "Tommy" Prothro Jr. (July 20, 1920 – May 14, 1995) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1965 to 1970, compil ...

, who left after ten seasons in Corvallis for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, just ten days after leading the Beavers in the Rose Bowl. Andros compiled a record in eleven seasons at OSU. In the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

games against the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

, he won his first seven and split the last four, for an overall record of Andros was nicknamed "

The Great Pumpkin The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. According to Linus van Pelt, the Great Pumpkin is a legendary personality who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween carrying a large bag of toy ...

" for his bright orange jacket and large physical size, first dubbed by a

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

sports columnist during the homecoming rout of WSU in Pullman on Halloween weekend in 1966. It was his first game on the Palouse since he left Idaho; his last Palouse game as Vandal head two years earlier was also a win over the Cougars, 28–13. As OSU head coach, Andros was 8–3 against Washington State and split the first ten games with

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

while headed by former Oklahoma teammate

Jim Owens James Donald Owens (March 6, 1927 – June 6, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Washington from 1957 to 1974, compiling a record of in 18 seasons. Owens played college football at the U ...

; Oregon State was beaten by the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Don James' first season at UW and Andros' last in coaching. He was also against his former team, beating the Idaho Vandals by two in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

in 1965 and by seven in Corvallis in 1966.

1967

Andros is best known for his incredible

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

season in which his team, dubbed the "Giant Killers", went Led by junior quarterback Steve Preece, the Beavers beat #2 Purdue, tied the new #2

, and then beat #1 USC. But because Oregon State lost to

and tied UCLA, USC won the conference title by a half game and earned the berth to the Rose Bowl, where they defeated the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Ath ...

and won the national title. Oregon State finished with a #7 ranking in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

. In

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, the Beavers were ranked sixth in the pre-season and

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

fifteenth after a campaign. There was no bowl game for the Beavers in either year, as both the Pac-8 and Big Ten forbade their teams from postseason participation outside of the Rose Bowl until the

season. Andros expressed an interest in the open position at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater in December and several weeks later, rejected an offer from the Pittsburgh Panthers football, University of Pittsburgh, but improved his situation in Corvallis. Although it wasn't apparent at the time, Andros' tenure at Oregon State crested with the 1968 season. Following two six-win seasons in 1969 and 1970, his teams would only win a total of 13 games in the next five years, the start of 28 straight losing seasons.

Later life and family

Following an eighth straight loss to open the

season, Andros announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. Days after the final game, he was named

to succeed the retiring Jim Barratt. Andros retired as AD in the spring of 1985, and continued to serve as a special assistant within the Beaver Athletic Scholarship Fund until health problems forced him to remain at his Corvallis home. He spent nearly four decades with Oregon State Beavers, Oregon State athletics. Though he spent only three years at

, he was still held in high regard in

. In 1989 Idaho Vandals football team, 1989, Andros was invited by new head coach John L. Smith to lead one of the sides in the annual Silver & Gold spring game, opposite former 1970s head coach Ed Troxel. In 1992, his "Giant Killers" team of 1967 was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. In the spring of 2003, Andros was awarded the Martin Chaves Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fifth Annual Bennys celebration at Oregon State. Andros married Luella Andros, and they had one daughter named Jeanna. He died in Corvallis on October 22, 2003, at the age of 79.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andros, Dee 1924 births 2003 deaths American football guards California Golden Bears football coaches Chicago Cardinals players Idaho Vandals football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football players Oregon State Beavers athletic directors Oregon State Beavers football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Sportspeople from Corvallis, Oregon Players of American football from Oklahoma American people of Greek descent