DEFENSIVE LINE COACH BILL SHANNON

In two years as Ea stern's defensive line coach, Bill Sh a nnon ha s d eve lop ed hi s unit into one of the most respected front-five in the Ohio Valley Conferenc e . And this year, his third und er Coach Roy Kidd, Shannon ' s crew i s expected to be better t han ever.

But that's th e kind of coaching success he 's u se d to.

In five sea sons at Dixie Height s High School in S ou th Fort Mitchell (1955 - 58, 63), he developed his t eams into the football power of Northern K e ntucky with a 47-5- 2 record.

Under Shannon 's leader s hip , Dixie H e i g ht s wo n three Northern Kentucky Conf e rence championships and t he R ecr e 2tion Bowl, and was tied in it s only Burley Bowl appearance.

H e was K e ntucky's " Coach of the Y ear" in 1955 and made three Kentucky Ea s t-W est All - Star coaching appearance s .

Pl ayers developed by S han n on have pursued collegiate football at Na vy , Purdue , Ohio S tate , Kentucky , South Carolina , We st Virginia, Cincinnati and numerou s small colleges.

Sh a nnon was head basketball coach and a ss ista nt football coach at Dixie H e ights from 1950-55. His coaching career wa s interrupted from 1958-63, when he l eft the field temporarily to represe n t a s porting goods com pany

He returned to Ea ste rn in 1964 and earned the M. A. degree while serving as a graduate assistant in football. He became a full-time staff membe r in 1965.

Shannon also is a di s tingui s hed war veteran He flew 3 4 missio ns over G er man y in World War II as a bombardier and was the recipient of the Di st ingui s h e d Flying Cross, the Air Medal with five oak leaf clu ste r s and the Purpl e H ear t.

The one-time Danville Hi g h S c hool st ar is married to the former Mary P e ter s, a fellow Danvillian . She serves as a registered nur se in the Univer s ity Infirma ry .