ATU Athletics
Paul Smith, Associate Athletic Director
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Bo Atterberry, the former head coach at both Texas A&M-Kingsville and Southeastern Oklahoma, has been named the 17th head football coach in Arkansas Tech history, Director of Athletics Steve Mullins announced Monday.
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“We are excited to welcome Bo Atterberry as our head coach,” Mullins said. “The sense among our committee and staff was that he would be an excellent fit. He has been a successful head coach at every stop, and has a built-in familiarity with the Great American Conference that will serve him well in this position.”
Atterberry has posted an eleven-year head coaching record of 74-47, beginning his head coaching career at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2007. His first Javelina team went 3-8 – the only time an Atterberry-helmed squad has finished with a sub-.500 record. Two years later, his team claimed the Lone Star Conference championship and advanced to the playoffs, and in 2010, his Javelina squad advanced to the second round of the Division II playoffs. Atterberry was named LSC Coach of the Year in 2012 and AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2010, in addition to being named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year in 2009.
He concluded his tenure at Texas A&M-Kingsville with an appearance in the Kanza Bowl and moved back to Southeastern Oklahoma, his alma mater, in the 2013 season as the team’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
After just one year back in Durant, Atterberry took the reins of the Savage Storm program and reeled off five consecutive winning seasons, including a berth in the 2014 Texarkana Live United Bowl – Southeastern’s first postseason appearance since 2004.
Perhaps most impressive about Atterberry’s first season in Durant was the team’s five-game turnaround – going from a 2-9 record to 7-5.
Atterberry started his coaching career in Durant, serving as a student assistant and graduate assistant at Southeastern before moving to the high school ranks, spending a four-year stint at Bartlesville High School before returning to Southeastern as defensive backs coach in 2003 and being named defensive coordinator in 2004.
Atterberry and his wife, April, have a daughter, Jax.