Larry Blakeney

Who is Larry Blakeney?

Larry Blakeney is the football head coach of the Troy Trojans at Troy University. He is only one of two coaches to have taken a football program from Division II to Division I FBS, the other being UCF's Gene McDowell. Blakeney is currently the 3rd-winningest active coach and the 2nd-longest active tenured coach in the FBS, only behind Frank Beamer.

Blakeney was the recipient of the Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award by the All-American Football Foundation in 2000. He was inducted into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on May 30, 2009. On December 21, 2010, he received the Sun Belt Conference 10th Anniversary Most Outstanding Head Coach award.

In the spring of 2011, Troy University honored Blakeney by naming the football playing surface Larry Blakeney Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. On August 10, 2012, Blakeney was inducted into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame. He was part of the inaugural class along with DeMarcus Ware, Don Maestri, Chase Riddle, Bill Atkins, Sim Byrd, Denise Monroe, Vergil McKinley, Ralph Adams, Mike Turk, and Charles Oliver.