Bill Yeoman

HOUSTON — Bill Yeoman, the father of the Veer offense and winningest football coach in University of Houston history, has died. He was 92.

His death was confirmed by his son, Bill Jr., who said the Hall of Fame coach died around noon Wednesday at an assisted-living facility in Houston.

“He lived a great, great life,” Bill Jr. said.

The longest-serving football coach in UH history, Yeoman won 160 games and four Southwest Conference championships and made 11 bowl appearances during a 25-year career with the Cougars. He retired in 1986. He became head coach in 1962.

Yeoman played a prominent role in the racial integration of collegiate athletics, becoming the first head football coach at a major Texas program to offer a scholarship to an African-American in the late 1960s.

In recent weeks, Yeoman had recovered from a bout with COVID-19.