Interim Director of Athletics & Head Football Coach 

Bill Curry, a name synonymous with class and integrity in the coaching profession, has accepted the challenge of building Georgia State University football as the program's first head coach.

The Atlanta native and former head coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky was introduced at Georgia State on June 12, 2008, just eight weeks after the football program was officially launched on April 17, 2008.

On Jan. 7, 2009, Curry assumed added responsibilities as Georgia State's interim athletics director, a position he will hold until the athletics director position is filled permanently by President Mark Becker.

Curry, who agreed to a five-year contract as Georgia State's head coach, is charged with the task of developing and directing the football program in every area in preparation for Georgia State's first season in the fall of 2010.

Curry brings 17 years of experience as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference--including Coach of the Year awards in both leagues--as well as an All-Pro playing career in the National Football League, and, most recently, national notoriety as a college football analyst for ESPN.

In the NFL, he participated in three Super Bowls and two Pro Bowls. As a center, Curry snapped the ball to legendary quarterbacks Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas, and he played for two of the most highly-regarded coaches in professional sports history in Vince Lombardi and Don Shula. His college coach, Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd, is an icon in Southern football annals.

After concluding his 10-year playing career for the Green Bay Packers (1965-66), Baltimore Colts (1967-72), Houston Oilers (1973) and Los Angeles Rams (1974), Curry entered the coaching ranks as offensive line coach at Georgia Tech in 1976. He then spent three years as an NFL assistant with the Packers (1977-79) before returning to his alma mater as head coach in 1980.

Curry took over a Georgia Tech program in transition, moving from independent status to the Atlantic Coast Conference while badly in need of facilities upgrades. His first two seasons were highlighted by a stunning 3-3 tie against No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in 1980, in which the Yellow Jackets' quarterback was a freshman walk-on named Ken Whisenhunt, who is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and a 24-21 victory at fourth-ranked Alabama the following year.

By recruiting talents such as all-America defensive end and future NFL star Pat Swilling, all-America offensive lineman John Davis, record-setting tailback Robert Lavette, and all-ACC linebacker Ted Roof, Curry's teams also scored a pair of victories over nationally-ranked Georgia teams as well as a win over 13th-ranked Clemson that snapped a 20-game ACC winning streak.

Curry's rebuilding efforts culminated in 1985, when he led Tech to a 9-2-1 season for the school's highest win total in two decades and its first bowl victory in 13 years, defeating heavily-favored Michigan State in the All-American Bowl. For his efforts, he was named ACC Coach of the Year.

Curry compiled a record of 20-11-3 over his final three seasons at Georgia Tech before moving to Alabama in 1987. He posted a three-year record of 26-10 with the Crimson Tide, capped by the 1989 SEC title and Sugar Bowl berth.

In addition to being selected SEC Coach of the Year in 1989, Curry received the national coaching accolade named for his beloved mentor, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

Curry then spent seven seasons at Kentucky (1990-96), highlighted by a berth in the 1993 Peach Bowl. At the time, that marked the Wildcats' fourth bowl berth in 40 years.

Through every stop, Curry has carried an indelible reputation for integrity and class, and he has been guided by the ideal that the education and well-being of the student-athlete is paramount. In 2007, he was recognized by the American Football Coaches Association with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, which honors someone "whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football."

In 2008, he received the President Gerald R. Ford Legends Center Award, which is presented annually to someone who has played the center position at the collegiate or professional level, has made extraordinary contributions to his team during his football career and has proven to be an exemplary citizen, philanthropist or leader in the business or football community.

Curry also serves at Georgia State University as a Distinguished Executive Fellow in the Robinson College of Business.

He is the author of the book, "Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle: Lessons from a Football Life," published in 2008.

His passion for mentoring young people is evident in his previous position as the Director of Leadership Baylor at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he served before taking over at Georgia State.

Curry attended College Park High School in the Atlanta area before going on to Georgia Tech, where he earned his B.S. degree in Industrial Management in 1965. He is married to the former Carolyn Newton of Atlanta, a graduate of Agnes Scott College who earned her master's degree and Ph.D. from Georgia State. While working toward her master's, she was honored as the Outstanding Student in the history program. Bill and Carolyn have two children and five grandchildren.

BILL CURRY FILE

Full Name: William Alexander Curry

Date of Birth: Oct. 21, 1942

Hometown: College Park, Ga.

Family: Married to the former Carolyn Newton

Children: Billy and Kristin; Grandchildren: Alex (10), Elliot (9), Evelyn (5), Claire (3), Brett (infant).

Education: Georgia Tech, 1965 (B.S. in Industrial Management); College Park (Ga.) High School

Playing Career:

Three-year letterwinner (1962-63-64) at Georgia Tech. Team captain in 1964.

Played 10 years as a center in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers (1965-66), Baltimore Colts (1967-72), Houston Oilers (1973) and Los Angeles Rams (1974)

Played in three Super Bowls with Green Bay (Super Bowl I) and Baltimore (Super Bowl III & V) and won three championships (Green Bay, 1965 & 1966; Baltimore, 1970)

NFL Pro Bowl, 1971 & 1972

Served as President of NFL Players Association

Coaching Career:

1976 Assistant Coach, Georgia Tech

1977-79 Assistant Coach, Green Bay Packers

1980-86 Head Coach, Georgia Tech

1987-89 Head Coach, Alabama

1990-96 Head Coach, Kentucky

2008-Present Head Coach, Georgia State

Honors:

Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, 1985

Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, 1989

Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, 1989

Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (AFCA), 2007

Member of Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

Other Experience:

Television analyst and contributing writer, ESPN, 1997-2007

Director of Leadership Baylor, Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn., 2006-08