Glenn E. Presnell

Director of Athletics

Glenn P resnell has been assoc i ated with E astern athletics for 22 years , serving the past six as the university's first full - time athletic director .

In ten years as Eastern's fottba ll coach , he guided h i s teams to 42 victories, 49 losses and three ties. D u ring that time, the Maroons wone one OVC title outright an d gained a fo u r-way share of the crown in 1962. Until one of h is st u dents, Roy Kidd, won the 1967 and 1968 championships , Presnell was the only Kentucky coach who could claim more than o n e OVC halo.

His first year as head coach, 1954, was his best. His Maroons went undeated in season play and lost to Omaha University 7-6 in what is still regarded as the greatest Tangerine Bowl game ever played in Orlando, Florida .

But Presnell was a football legend even before he came to Eastern .

Born at Gilead, Nebraska, Presnell was an All-America halfback at Nebraska , and played in the East-West All-Star Game in San Francisco at the end of his college career in 1927 .

Later, with the Portsmouth Spartans and the Detroit Lions in the National League, he was an all-league performer.

Against Green Bay in 1934, the popu l ar Presnell kicked a 54yard field goal, which stood as the N .F .L . record for 19 years, and is still the second longest in the League's history. The NFL's 1964 yearbook cited Presnell as one of the key men in Detroit's 1935 championship.

Presnell began his collegiate coaching career in 1937 as backfield coach at the University of Kansas. In 1938 he returned to N ebraska as backfield coach, and in 1942 he was named head coach there. Nebraska played Stanford in the Ros e Bowl in 1941 , while he was backfield coach of the Cornhuskers .

In 1943 and '44, Pr esne ll coached the backfield at North Carolina Pre-Flight , while serving as a naval officer. He returned to Nebraska in 1946 , before coming to Eastern in the fall of 1947. He was named head coach in 1954 .

He married the former Lizbeth Gehrling of Ironton, Ohio, in 19 29, and found in her his most faithful fan and supporter. They have one son, Danny, who teaches at Madison Central High School in Richmond. His chief hobby is golf, and he coaches the Ea stern golfers, but he takes an interest in all sports.

Student Trainers and Managers

David M. Vance Sports Information Director

David Vance is a third-generation journalist who left the Fourth Estate in 1966 to become Director of News in Eastern's Office of Public Affairs. Since then, his duties have included news, sports and publications work while serving as acting director of public information . For the past two years, Vance 's primary duties have focused on Eastern's athletic program. He has worked for The Lexington Herald sports department and The Associated Press. Vance holds professional membership in the American College Public Relation s Association, Congress of Sports Information Directors and the United States Basketball Writers Association. He is married to the former Sharon Chrisman. They have two sons (Vance insists they're both All-American timber), Matt, 2, and Troy, 1.

For additional information, features, or pictures contact:

DAVID M . VANCE

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

RICHMOND, KENTUCKY 40475

Telephone (606) 622-2301