Coleman Success began at UCA

One of the nation's true sports success stories had its beginning and formative chapters in Conway. This story isn't finished, either. It has added a new chapter.

Monte Coleman has been named head football coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. This is the same Monte Coleman who was a standout linebacker for 16 years for the professional Washington Redskins. And this is the same Monte Coleman who came to the University of Central Arkansas as a skinny kid who had played just a handful of games for Pine Bluff High School.

We will skip over the use of the clich "rags to riches" in favor of calling this a snapshot of a Horatio Alger story. The latter fits Coleman and his situation much better.

The year was 1975, and UCA people were feeling fat and sassy. That old moniker of State College of Arkansas had just been shed in favor of the much more appealing University of Central Arkansas. Football was gaining momentum for the UCA Bears with head coach Ken Stephens, an alumnus, headed into his fourth season. Stephens and the Bears had a proven quarterback that brought excitement into the game when he stepped onto the field - Sam Coleman.

And in August of 1975, a none-too-impressive looking youngster walked into Bear digs and said he wanted to play. He was Monte Coleman, Sam Coleman's younger brother. Sam had arrived a couple of years earlier with solid credentials from Pine Bluff High School. Monte had been sidelined with a broken arm and played just a few games for the Zebras. Monte was 6-1, about 160 pounds. He was an unknown, a walk-on.

Monte Coleman was tried as wide receiver - he could run. That didn't work, so Stephens and staff moved him to the defensive backfield, and things looked better. Stephens recalled, "It took him a year and a lot of work on the weights." Coleman grew to 6-2, 210 pounds and also nailed down a spot as safety in the secondary. He eventually went to linebacker to fill a pressing need for the Bears in his senior year.

In Coleman's sophomore year, the UCA football team reached new heights, going to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship game at Kingsville, Texas, and falling to then-powerhouse Texas A&I. In Coleman's senior year, the Bears again made the NAIA playoffs but lost in the first round to Western State of Colorado.

Jim Schneider, now retired as UCA sports and news information staffer, recalled, "Monte was an excellent artist along with his football. And he was a do-right type of person. He did right with himself and with other people."

The professional football draft after the 1978 season went to the 11th round before somebody called out, "Washington Redskins, Monte Coleman, University of Central Arkansas." The silence may have been broken by somebody quietly asking, "Who?" Or maybe, "Where?" Coleman was the first Bear footballer ever to be drafted.

Coleman played 16 seasons with the Redskins, growing up to 6-3, 227 pounds. Only two other Redskins in history matched those 16 seasons - Sammy Baugh and Darrell Green. Coleman earned three Super Bowl rings. He was named Washingtonian of the Year in 1996, a time when another Arkansan was sitting in that big house on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Coleman developed assorted personal skills in addition to football abilities, and when his playing days ended, he became a motivational speaker. Then he became an assistant coach and the team chaplain for the UAPB Golden Lions.

The UAPB administration didn't waste a moment when it decided to replace head coach Mo Forte. The successor was obvious and close at hand.