Fred Akers -- Football

Lettered in football at Arkansas in 1958 and '59.
Wyoming in 1975 (2-9) and 1976 (8-4).
Coached Texas from 1977-86 and led them to an 86-31-2 record in 10 seasons. Texas went to nine bowl games under Akers.
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year at Wyoming in 1976 & Texas 1977.
Coached Purdue from 1987-90 and led them to a 12-31-1 record.

Miles Aldridge -- Defensive Backs Coach, University of Central Florida Knights

(as of football season 2006) Miles Aldridge came to the University of Central Florida in December of 2003 after one season at the University of Buffalo. He spent 2001 and 2002 with the Buffalo Bills after two years as defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee University.
Aldridge came to the MTU program by way of Southwestern Louisiana where he spent the 1998 season as the defensive coordinator. 
A native of Columbia, SC, Aldridge has a wealth of experience, having served as defensive coordinator for some of the nation's top college programs over the past 15 years.
Prior to his one year at USL, Aldridge was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas under Danny Ford in 1996 and 1997. His 1996 Razorback defense was ranked 12th nationally in rush defense and 34th in total defense after yielding just 330 yards a game in the always tough Southeastern Conference. Before arriving at Arkansas, Aldridge was defensive signal-caller for Clemson during the 1994-96 seasons and was in the same capacity under Sparky Woods at South Carolina from 1990-93. His Clemson teams ranked among the nation's elite defensively, ranking 17th and 10th in Division I-A in scoring defense at 17.1 and 16.2 in his two seasons there as the Tigers made back-to-back bowl appearances. 
Prior to a one-year stint at North Carolina State where he coached the linebacker corps, Aldridge spent five seasons under head coach Danny Ford at Clemson, helping the Tigers to five consecutive bowl appearances and to three Atlantic Coast Conference titles as well as ranking fifth nationally in total defense his final year.
Aldridge has also served on the staffs at Duke, Mississippi, Tulsa, Wichita State, and East Tennessee State.

Laura Alford -- Associate Head Women's Volleyball Coach, University of California - Irvine

(as of volleyball season 2003) Laura Alford is in her second season (2001) as the associate head coach for the UCI women's volleyball program. Alford came to UCI after serving as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1997-99. In 1999, Alford guided Cincinnati to a 28-7 overall record, the Conference USA title and the Bearcats' first NCAA tournament appearance since 1981. While at Cincinnati, Alford coached the Bearcats to three 20-win seasons.
Alford, a Santa Ana, Calif., native, served as assistant coach at Arkansas for two seasons before becoming the Bearcats' head coach. She is a 1990 graduate of the University of Hawaii, where she was a member of the national runner-up team in 1988. Following graduation, Alford served as a graduate assistant for the Rainbow Wahine from 1991-93. She returned to Southern California as assistant coach at Cal State Northridge for the 1993 season.
She played one season at Golden West College, where she was an All-American and conference MVP in 1987. She began her collegiate career at Rhode Island in 1986. The graduate of Foothill High School played and coached with Charlie Brande at the Orange County Volleyball Club. She served as one of the club's head coaches from 1987-91 and 1993.

Gary Anderson -- Head Coach, Arkansas Twisters (AFL2)

(as of football season 2005) Gary Anderson is the Head Coach of the Arkansas Twisters. Anderson took over the head coaching duties after spending 2001 season as an assistant coach for the Twisters in charge of special teams and running backs. Anderson starred at running back and wide receiver for the University of Arkansas from 1979-82 and is regarded as one of the best athletes to ever play for the Razorbacks. He finished his college career with 392 rushes for 1,999 yards and 94 receptions for 1,075 yards. Anderson was voted as a member of the Razorback's All-Decade team for the 1980's. In 1983, Anderson was a first-round draft pick in both the NFL and USFL draft. He played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL his first three seasons as a professional and gained over 1,000 yards two of the three years. After the demise of the USFL in 1985, Gary moved on to play for the San Diego Chargers of the NFL from 1985-90. In his five seasons with the Chargers, Gary gained 3,409 yards on 321 carries and had 302 receptions for 2,999 yards. He was named the Chargers MVP twice and was selected to the NFL All-Pro team once during his stay in San Diego. Gary returned to Tampa Bay in 1991, this time with the NFL's Buccaneers. From 1991 to 1993, he carried the ball 321 times for 1,159 yards. He finished his NFL career in 1993 with the Detroit Lions.

Year	Team	Wins	Losses
2001	Arkansas Twisters	6	10
2002	Arkansas Twisters	11	6
2003	Arkansas Twisters	11	8
2004	Arkansas Twisters	4	12
2005	Arkansas Twisters	0	4
5 yrs	AF2 Totals	32	40

Dale Armstrong -- Assistant Women's Soccer Coach, University of Illinois

(as of soccer season 2006) Dale Armstrong is entering his fifth season with the Illini in 2006. He works primarily with the goalkeepers at Illinois and was a big factor in the Illini defense recording 13 shuotuts, breaking countless records and winning the Big Ten Tournament title with three consecutive shutouts in 2003. Armstrong previously worked with head coach Janet Rayfield and fellow assistant coach Marcia McDermott in 1990 and '91 when they were both at the University of Arkansas.
Before coming to Illinois, Armstrong was very active in coaching in the state of Oklahoma. From 1999-2002, he coached the Cascia Hall Preparatory High School girls team. He was also the goalkeeper trainer for six competitive club teams in the Tulsa area and spent two seasons as the goalkeeper trainer for Oral Roberts University.
Armstrong attended the University of Arkansas and earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 1991 and a master's of sports management in 1992. While there, he served as a student assistant coach and as a graduate assistant for the Razorbacks. At the same time, he was a keeper for the Arkansas Diamonds of the United States Indoor Soccer League in 1991 and '92. Armstrong has earned State, National, Advanced National and Premier level National Soccer Coaches Association of America diplomas.

Derick Atchley -- Assistant Football Coach, Ranger (TX) Community College

(as of football season 2002) Derick Atchley comes to Ranger from the University of Arkansas, where he spent one season as graduate assistant strength coach and volunteer with the Razorback athletic programs.
He was an all-conference linebacker for Kilgore Junior College in 1992-93, then went on to Murray State University in Murray, Ky., where he earned a bachelor of science in exercise physiology and played on the 1995 Ohio Valley Conference championship football team.
From there, he earned a master of science degree at Mississippi State while working as a graduate assistant strength coach. Atchley is from Haleyville, Alabama.

Page last updated: 10/26/09