2000 Inductee

Murray Armstrong

For those familiar with football history at the University of Memphis, Coach Murray Armstrong and the Tigers program are inextricably linked. They comprise a union that spans almost 40 years, over 400 football games, eight head football coaches, and most important, over two-thousand players, managers and trainers.

Armstrong attended the University of Tennessee (1955-59) on a football scholarship playing for Coach Bowden Wyatt. He was a three-year letterman, playing both offense and defense. Murray was a first team All Southeastern Conference selection in 1958 and was recognized as SEC Player of the Week, October 4, 1958, playing against Mississippi State at Crump Stadium in Memphis.

In the Fall of 1962, Armstrong was named to the football staff at the University of Memphis by Coach Billy J. Murphy. Following his on-the-field coaching career, Coach Armstrong, with the help of his wife Joan, spent the next 33 years managing the Athletic Dorm which housed more than 160 male athletes.

His thorough understanding of the organizational dynamics at the University of Memphis coming from 38 years of experiences has served as an anchor to many involved with the Tigers program.

In May 1998, Coach Armstrong was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the University of Memphis Football program. In September 1999, he was inducted into the University of Memphis "M" Club Hall of Fame.

Armstrong and his wife, Joan, have two children: Sterritt and Brence.