Robert Reese Neyland
Brigadier General, U.S. Army

Robert Reese Neyland was born on 17 February 1892 in Greenville, TX.

Neyland graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1916 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After serving in World War I, he was an aide to General Douglas MacArthur at the U.S. Military Academy.

After this assignment, he was appointed Professor of Military Science at the University of Tennessee in 1926. He was named head football coach and coached the team for nine years before the Army called him to active duty in World War II. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater, supervising the transportation of materiel and retired from military service in 1946, as a Brigadier General.

He returned to the University of Tennessee as head coach and until 1954, led the team to four National Championships, seven SEC Championships with a record of 173 wins, 31 losses and 12 tied. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and served as Athletic Director at the University until his death.

Death and Burial

Brigadier General Robert Reese Neyland died on 28 March 1962 in New Orleans, LA. He is buried at Knoxville National Cemetery in Knoxville, TN.