John C. Futrall
Futrall in 1917
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| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
March 9, 1873 near Jackson, Tennessee |
| Died | September 12, 1939 (aged 66) near West Fork, Arkansas |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1894–1896 | Arkansas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–2 |
John Clinton Futrall (March 9, 1873 – September 12, 1939) was an American football coach and college administrator. An alumnus of the Arkansas Industrial University, later renamed the University of Arkansas, he was the first head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks football program, serving from 1894 to 1896, while the school's mascot was still the Cardinal. Futrall later served as president of the University of Arkansas from 1913 to 1939. He was killed in an auto accident in 1939. The first student union on the University of Arkansas campus was named Memorial Hall in his honor when it opened later that year.
After two tenuous years of temporary presidents and a nationwide search, the board of directors of the university selected John Clinton Futrall as the university president in 1914. Futrall was not a candidate from afar, but had been a professor of Latin and Greek since 1895. Inherited from his predecessor's administration was a dire financial crisis, severe enough that the school had to borrow money to pay for student labor. Futrall quickly sought to correct the situation by lowering salaries, decreasing services, and firings. His goal of fiscal solidity for the university was joined by Governor Charles H. Brough, who pushed through legislation guaranteeing the school a percentage of the state property tax.
Futrall's administration remains to the present the longest of any University of Arkansas president, spanning twenty-five years and ending only with his death in 1939. In this time period, Futrall successfully defended against the relocation of the university to Little Rock, the official accreditation of the college in the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, survived two revolts, one by students and another by bankers, and oversaw the construction of most of the collegiate gothic buildings on campus. The funding for the new buildings was made possible by a bonds from the state and resulted in the construction of the engineering and agricultural buildings in 1926 and 1927, respectively. The issue of money also lead Futrall to actively deciding to limit the post-graduate studies at the school. While the Graduate School was established in 1927, Futrall's decision to limit its cost, lead to no doctoral programs until after his death.
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