William Hardin "Navy Bill" Saunders (June 20, 1898 – March 13, 1950) 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 ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Colorado State Teachers College—now the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

—from 1928 to 1931, at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

from 1932 to 1934, and at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

from 1936 to 1938, compiling a career

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 ...

record of 44–28–8. Saunders played football as a lineman at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

and was later a line coach at the Agricultural College of Colorado, now

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

. He died on March 13, 1950, at his plantation home in

Grenada, Mississippi Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,092 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County. History ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1898 births 1950 deaths Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Denver Pioneers football coaches Navy Midshipmen football players Northern Colorado Bears football coaches People educated at Maidstone Grammar School {{1920s-collegefootball-coach-stub