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Clarence Stasavich (February 9, 1913 – October 24, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Lenoir–Rhyne College—now known as Lenoir–Rhyne University—in Hickory, North Carolina from 1946 to 1961 and at East Carolina College—renamed East Carolina University in 1967—from 1963 to 1969, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 171–64–7. He led Lenoir–Rhyne to the NAIA Football National Championship in 1960. Stasavich was also the athletic director at Lenoir–Rhyne from 1946 to 1961 and East Carolina from 1963 to 1975.
 Stasavich pictured in The Buccaneer 1963, East Carolina yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 9, 1913 Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 1975 (aged 62) Greenville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1931–1934 | Lenoir–Rhyne |
| 1941 | Charlotte Clippers |
| Position(s) | End |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1938–1941 | Lenoir–Rhyne (assistant) |
| 1946–1961 | Lenoir–Rhyne |
| 1962–1969 | East Carolina |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1946–1961 | Lenoir–Rhyne |
| 1963–1975 | East Carolina |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 171–64–7 |
| Bowls | 5–1 |
| Tournaments | 3–1 (NAIA playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NAIA (1960) 9 North State / Carolinas Conference (1951–1952, 1955–1961) 1 SoCon (1966) | |
| Awards | |
| NAIA Coach of the Year (1959) | |
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Stasavich attended Lenoir–Rhyne College–now known as—Lenoir–Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, where he played football for four years as an end. He also played basketball at Lenoir–Rhyne for four years, tennis for two, and baseball for one. In 1941, Stasavich played professional football for the Charlotte Clippers of the Dixie League.[1]
East Carolina
Stasavich was the head football coach at East Carolina from 1962 to 1969 and the athletic director from 1963 to 1975. During those eight years, Stasavich posted a 50–27–1 record. In 1963 East Carolina was 9–1 and recorded the program's first bowl game victory, against North Eastern in the Eastern Bowl. In 1964, Stasavich's team again posted a 9–1 record and beat UMass in the Tangerine Bowl, 14–13. The 1965 football season was a repeat of 1964's record and bowl appearance, except the Pirates won against Maine, 31–0, in the Tangerine Bowl. Also in 1965, Stasavich helped bring East Carolina into the Southern Conference. In 1969, Stasavich was the third-winningest active coach after Bear Bryant of Alabama and Johnny Vaught of Ole Miss.
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Stasavich died of a heart attack, on October 24, 1975, at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.[2]
Stasavich's love for the Southern Conference was honored when the conference named the football championship trophy the Clarence Stasavich Memorial Trophy. Stasavich was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1970, the ECU Hall of Fame in 1976, the National Association of Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977, and the Florida Citrus Bowl Hall of Fame in 1986. Lenoir-Rhyne and the city of Hickory, North Carolina named one of the campus streets Stasavich Place in honor of his accomplishments. The street runs in front of the gymnasium and is the main entry to Helen and Leonard Moretz Stadium, the university's football facility.
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| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenoir–Rhyne Bears (North State Conference / Carolinas Conference) (1946–1961) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 5–6 | 3–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 1947 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 5–4–1 | 4–3–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1948 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 6–3–1 | 5–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1949 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 7–3 | 5–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1950 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 8–2 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1951 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 10–1 | 6–0 | 1st | W Pythian Bowl | ||||
| 1952 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 8–1 | 6–0 | 1st | L Cigar Bowl | ||||
| 1953 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 4–5 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1954 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 2–7–1 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| 1955 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 9–0–1 | 6–0 | 1st | W Palmetto Shrine | ||||
| 1956 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 10–0 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1957 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 8–2–1 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1958 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 9–1 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1959 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 10–1 | 6–0 | 1st | L NAIA Football National Championship | ||||
| 1960 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 12–0 | 6–0 | 1st | W NAIA Football National Championship | ||||
| 1961 | Lenoir–Rhyne | 8–1–1 | 6–1 | 1st | |||||
| Lenoir–Rhyne: | 121–37–6 | 79–26–2 | |||||||
| East Carolina Pirates (NCAA College Division independent) (1962–1964) | |||||||||
| 1962 | East Carolina | 5–4 | |||||||
| 1963 | East Carolina | 9–1 | W Eastern Bowl | ||||||
| 1964 | East Carolina | 9–1 | W Tangerine Bowl | ||||||
| East Carolina Pirates (Southern Conference) (1965–1969) | |||||||||
| 1965 | East Carolina | 9–1 | 3–1 | 3rd | W Tangerine Bowl | ||||
| 1966 | East Carolina | 4–5–1 | 4–1–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1967 | East Carolina | 8–2 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1968 | East Carolina | 4–6 | 2–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1969 | East Carolina | 2–7 | 1–3 | 5th | |||||
| East Carolina: | 50–27–1 | 14–8–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 171–64–7 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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