1ST AND 10
As new football head coach Dana Holgorsen kicks off his initial season at UH, we share 10 lesser known (but no less intriguing) facts about him.
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Born in Davenport, Iowa June 21, 1971 and raised in the nearby farming community of Mt. Pleasant, he worked at his father’s auto parts store and in the corn fields growing up. |
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He attended Iowa Wesleyan University, located right there in Mt. Pleasant, and played on the football team. As a gung-ho young receiver, Holgorsen was known for having great hands and not-so-great speed (4.8 seconds in the 40-second dash). |
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As a fledgling assistant coach at Mississippi College, Holgorsen and the other staffers were required to help the school’s landscape crew plant shrubs and flowers around the campus during the off-season. |
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He put his off-field time to more productive use as an assistant coach at Valdosta State University in Georgia, where he earned a master’s degree in health and physical education. |
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Depending on which sportswriters you read, his nickname is “Holgy” or “Holgo.” But, among a certain circle of longtime friends, he answered to “Baywatch” in earlier days, a reference to the beach-worthy build and generous blond hair that called to mind the lifeguards on that popular TV series. |
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But like the tide,that Baywatch mane eventually receded, and Holgorsen capped the sparse thatch with a visor for an infamously funky look – one so singular that Matthew McConaughey reportedly borrowed it for his 2017 movie “Gold.” The actor handed the movie’s hair stylist a photo of Holgorsen’s distinctive ’do and instructed her to emulate “this guy’s hair.” Holgorsen had the last laugh ... or tweet: “Happy to help! You nailed the look.” |
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Although Holgorsen is in the football record books for a number of accomplishments related to the high-flying offenses he’s guided, you’ll find him listed in the architectural archives as well. During his stint as West Virginia’s head coach, he was credited with building the first major residence in the country constructed entirely from cross-laminated timber. The 5-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath home, on Cheat Lake outside Morgantown, was put up for sale when Holgorsen took the UH head coach job. |
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Not long after Holgorsen was announced as UH’s new coach, he was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game. In a display of professional courtesy, none other than the Astros manager A.J. Hinch came out and did the honors behind the plate. Holgorsen let rip with a decent toss that was a little low and wobbly, but still crossed the plate. Hiding a smile, Holgorsen quickly dubbed the sagging pitch his “changeup- sinker.” |
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It’s a family affair for Holgorsen, whose brother Brett joined him at UH as the Cougars’ assistant strength and performance coach, while his student-athlete son Logan is on the team as a quarterback (as a walk-on, not on scholarship). |
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Perhaps even better known than his hairstyle is Holgorsen’s fondness for high-octane energy drinks. No one’s quite sure how many cans he consumes a day – accounts in the media vary widely. On an average, non-game day, it could be as few as four. On the day of a big game – and they’re all big for him – he’s been known to suck down as many as a dozen of the power-packed beverages. |
