Early Life and Education
Coach Tuberville was born in Camden, Arkansas on September 18, 1954, the third of three children of Olive and Charles Tuberville.
College Football’s 2004 Coach of the Year and two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Tommy Tuberville is most often recognized for his success on the field. But it is the legacy of his father, a highly decorated WWII veteran and Purple Heart recipient, that motivates Coach Tuberville to give back to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
Tommy Tuberville began his football career playing for Harmony Grove High School, near his native Camden, Arkansas. He went on to attend Southern Arkansas University, where he majored in Education and was a letterman at free safety for the Muleriders. Tuberville also played two years on SAU’s golf team.
Family
In 1989 Coach Tuberville met his future wife, Suzanne Fette, at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. They were married in 1991 and have two boys, Tucker, a former student-athlete at Auburn University, who serves as an investment banker in New York, and Troy, currently a student at Auburn University where he’s working on his business technology degree.
Career
After graduating from SAU, Coach Tuberville remained in the region, taking his first coaching job at Hermitage High School. After two years as an assistant and two as head coach at Hermitage High School, Tuberville spent 1980-1984 as an assistant coach at Arkansas State University.
1986
In 1986, Coach Tuberville started a long and successful tenure at the University of Miami. Beginning as a graduate assistant, he went on to become the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator in 1993. By the time he left Coral Gables, Coach Tuberville would see the Hurricanes win three AP national championships, solidifying their place as one of the most storied programs in college football history. As the Hurricanes defensive coordinator, he coached future Hall of Fame inductees Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp, as well as Dwayne, “The Rock” Johnson. Tuberville spent the 1994 season in College Station, Texas, as Coach R.C. Slocum’s defensive coordinator and finished with a 10-0-1 record.
1995
In 1995, Tuberville became head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Coach Tuberville’s four seasons at Ole Miss were marked by continual improvement, and in 1997 he was named the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year.
1998
Following the 1998 regular season, Coach Tuberville was announced as the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Tuberville’s time at Auburn was a success by any measure, as the Tigers captured eight consecutive bowl appearances, including five New Year’s Day bowl appearances, five SEC Western Division titles, one SEC Championship, and a 13-0 season in 2004, after which Coach Tuberville was once again named the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year. For his efforts during the perfect 2004 season, Tuberville would be named Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, and AFCA Coach of the Year, among others.
2008
In 2008, Coach Tuberville was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame as part of the organization’s 50th-anniversary class, also becoming an ESPN and ESPNU studio analyst the same year.
2010
In 2010, Coach Tuberville was named the head football coach of Texas Tech University, where two of his three teams participated in bowl games.
2012
In 2012, Coach Tuberville accepted the head coaching job at the University of Cincinnati where in the second year he won the American Athletic Conference Championship, and three of his four teams participated in bowl games.
2016
After the 2016 season, Tuberville retired as one of the top 50 most winning football coaches of all time. He joined ESPN as a full-time member of the broadcast staff, working side by side with hall of fame broadcaster Mike Patrick