FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - Bill Blankenship established a dominant program in the state of Oklahoma and now he's ready to take a shot in Arkansas.
The former University of Tulsa and Tulsa Union head coach was introduced as the new Fayetteville football coach at a special school board meeting Wednesday (June 8) night.
"I think the fact that they know how to win that draws us to it but that's not enough," Blankenship said. "I love what we've discovered about the culture here and the passion but the people and the great place to live. Angie (Blankenship's wife) and I knew that we were going to keep coaching that we were going to move some place we were going to be very particular about finding the right fit. We think this is a special place."
Blankenship coached the Golden Hurricane for eight years, four seasons (2011-14) as the school's head coach. He was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2012 after an 11-3 season and a Liberty Bowl win. He finished with a 24-27 record in four seasons at Tulsa.
Blankenship, a Spiro, Okla. native, was named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009 after 20 years as a high school coach. Blankenship began his head coaching career at Spiro (1986-89) before going to Edmond Memorial (1990-91) and then led Tulsa Union for 14 years where he had a 154-26 record. The Redskins won state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005 and reached the state championship game four other seasons. Blankenship had been workin as a volunteer assistant at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa after he spent the 2015 season as a consultant at the University of Memphis.
Before beginning his coaching career, Blankenship played quarterback at both Spiro and the University of Tulsa (1975-79).
Blankenship replaces Patton who led the Bulldogs to four state championships, including one in 2015, and coached at Fayetteville for 13 seasons.