Behind the Game: 2022 Frank Broyles Award

Behind every successful head coach and athlete stands a dedicated assistant coach. Frank Broyles, former coach and athletic director at the University of Arkansas, recognized that. In 1995, he and radio personality David Bazzel pioneered the Frank Broyles Award to showcase the significance of college assistant coaches. Like coaching a football team, the Broyles Award has many people working in the background, and The Communications Group plays a large part in the success of this annual event.

The 2022 Broyles Award marked its 27^th anniversary. From the beginning, Bazzel approached ComGroup Agency Founder Dane Cowling to help with the marketing and public relations of the first event. Twenty-seven years later, ComGroup still has the privilege to coordinate the promotion of the Broyles Award through the agency’s social media and public relations services.

“It’s great to have somebody with the talent Dane has that believes in you and what the Broyles Award could be,” Bazzel said. “If we look back at what it was in 1996 to what it is in 2022, it’s unbelievable, and we could not have done it without Dane and The Communications Group.”

Each year, the Broyles Awards finalists, which are determined by an elite board comprising of former hall of fame coaches, members of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and broadcasters, gather in Little Rock for a two-day event, celebrating their accomplishments. The recipient is announced at the end of the event. This year, the winner was Garrett Riley, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at TCU. Additionally, the award recently added the High School Broyles Award, showcasing the top assistant high school coaches in the country. ComGroup is there each year to capture the important moments so fans around the world can follow along.

Not only does the Broyles Award give recognition and advance coaches' careers, but it also supports the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation, an organization to help Alzheimer’s caregivers. The organization was founded after Coach Broyles’ wife Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Molly Harrell, Frank and Barbara’s granddaughter, serves the Foundation and the Broyles Award.

“My grandpa would always say the Foundation is about improving the quality of life,” Harrell said. “Alzheimer’s is an undefeated opponent, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play a really great game and enjoy the game.”

To be a part of the Broyles Award’s impact and carrying on Coach Broyles’ legacy is something ComGroup doesn’t take lightly. The Frank Broyles Award is one of ComGroup’s longest-standing clients, and we look forward to providing our services for years to come.

We can do the same for you. Contact us today to see how our public relations and digital team can coach you on how to take your organization’s special event or business and communications goals to the next level.