Rex Edward Enright (March 19, 1901 – April 6, 1960) 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 with ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in the 1920s. After graduating from Notre Dame in 1926, he played professional football in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

for two seasons. Enright served as the head football coach at the University of South Carolina from 1938 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1956, compiling a record of 64–69–7. He was also the head basketball coach at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

from 1931 to 1938 and at South Carolina for one season in 1942–43, tallying a career college basketball coaching record of 82–62.

Early life and playing career

Enright was the son of James E. Enright (March 1871 – ?) and May C. Billick (January 1882 – ?). He was born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. He graduated from Central High School in Rockford, where he played on the 1918 state champion basketball team, and was team captain and played running back on the football team. He then graduated from the University of Notre Dame where he played running back for

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

on the football team, and also played on the Irish basketball team. Enright played fullback for the

in 1926 and 1927.

Coaching career

In the early 1930s, Enright was an assistant football coach at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. From 1931 to 1938, he was the head basketball coach at the

and assistant football coach. In 1938, he was hired as head football coach and athletic director at the University of South Carolina. After the 1942 season, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

serving as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and working mostly in their athletic program in the United States. He completed his service in the navy in 1946, and returned to the Gamecocks as head football coach succeeding John D. McMillan, and remained until 1955 when he resigned for health reasons. He hired

Warren Giese Warren E. Giese (July 14, 1924 – September 12, 2013) was an American state legislator in South Carolina and a college football coach. He served as the head football coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks for five years at the University of So ...

as his successor, and continued as athletic director until 1960. The Rex Enright Athletic Center on the South Carolina campus was named for him and the Rex Enright Award (also known as the Captain's Cup) given to the football captains of the previous season. He was considered one of the "ring leaders" in the formation of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

in 1953.

Personal life, death, and honors

Enright was to married Alice Thoren (1903–1971). They had daughters: Jean (1926–2015), Joyce, and Alice. Enright died on April 6, 1960, from

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines i ...

s and rheumatic heart lesions, at Columbia Hospital in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. He had been admitted to the hospital a week earlier. Enright is a member of the

South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame The South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" ...

. In 2009, the University of South Carolina recognized Enright as the winningest football coach in school history. His record 64 wins was highlighted during the halftime show of South Carolina's football game versus

Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-cam ...

on September 19, where Enright's daughter, Jean Smith, and great-grandson, Brian Garrett, accepted the presentation in his memory. That record lasted only two more years until

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

passed him in 2011.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Rex 1901 births 1960 deaths American football fullbacks American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Forwards (basketball) Georgia Bulldogs basketball coaches Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers football coaches Green Bay Packers players North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Players of American football from Illinois South Carolina Gamecocks athletic directors South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Rockford, Illinois United States Navy officers United States Navy reservists Military personnel from Illinois