Colorado University Athletics

Frank Prentup, Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame

Frank Prentup, Coach (Baseball/Football)

 

  • Longest Tenured Baseball Coach At CU
  • 257-255-2 Record In 24 Seasons
  • 15 Seasons Football Assistant Coach
  • Namesake Of CU Baseball, Now Soccer, Complex

Nicknamed the GÇ£ChiefGÇ¥ because of his Native American ancestry ... Head coach of ColoradoGÇÖs baseball team for 24 seasons, 1946 through 1969, the longest tenure of any head coach in the sport at CU ... CUGÇÖs baseball field, now the soccer complex, was named in his honor in 1977 ... Also an assistant football coach for 15 seasons under three different head coaches between 1941 and 1958 ... Compiled a 257-255-2 record as CUGÇÖs head coach during a time in which he led the program into a transitional phase from the Mountain States Conference to the Big 7.

In coaching more games than any other coach in CU baseball history (514), 13 of his teams posted winning records with one other at .500 ... Best run was a 51-25 record from 1952 through 1955 ... Turned many CU football players into baseball stars, most notably Frank Bernardi, who had never played the sport before and would eventually become a .383 hitter ...? His first CU team shared the Mountain States title in 1946, the only championship in his tenure (but only two of his? teams finished last), almost all his former players speak to is personal skills and the life-long lessons they learned while playing for him and the profound impact he had on their lives ... His teams were recognized for always being fundamentally sound that played smart baseball, as he was also revered for teaching the mental approach to the game ... Received the Joel Greenstein Award for contributions to the sport of baseball in 1985, and was honored by the collegiate baseball coaches for his contribution to the sport in 1986 ... An assistant professor in physical education from 1941 until his retirement from the faculty in 1976 ... Credited with initiating rope skipping as a popular school activity for a fitness regime, and later taught boxing ... Served three years in the U.S. Navy in World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant ... Graduated from Kansas State in 1932 ... Born July 18, 1907 in Leavenworth, Kan., he passed away in Boulder in 1992 at the age of 85.