| Dr. Leland Byrd of Morgantown, WV and Fort Lauderdale, FL coached the Pioneer Basketball program from 1956 through 1966. At the time, his 118 wins were second only to that of legendary Coach Nate Rohrbough. His teams often beat perennial WVIAC powers Alderson-Broaddus, Tech, Wesleyan, and Fairmont. Byrd also served as assistant football coach at GSC, including the year that Coach Nick Murin's 1958 team went undefeated in the WVIAC. He was also head of the Physical Education program at GSC. Byrd was an effective and innovative Athletic Director at Glenville State College, Miami Dade Junior College, Western Michigan University, and West Virginia University. At WVU, women's sports were elevated from team sports to varsity sports and the operating budget doubled. The football team, under legendary Coach Bobby Bowden, participated in two bowl games and his decision to hire Basketball Coach Gale Catlett under a multi-year contract put the Mountaineers on a winning path. One of Byrd's crowning achievements at WVU was planning, designing, and securing funding for Mountaineer Field, which was built shortly after he left WVU to become executive director of the Eastern Eight Basketball Conference and eventually Commissioner of the Atlantic 10. In 1947, during his playing days at WVU, he was elected to the Helms Foundation ALL American First Team and also named West Virginia's Amateur Athlete of the Year. For good reason, he became known as "The Hammer" for his left handed hook shot. The WVU teams Byrd played on regularly went to the NIT (the preeminent tournament during that time) and were ranked among the top teams in the country. After graduation from WVU in 1948, he was drafted by the New York Knicks, but Uncle Sam came calling and he was drafted by the U.S. Army for a year. In 1950, he returned to WVU to study for his master's degree, but was drafted again, serving as 1st Lt. Special Services at Red River Arsenal in Texarkana, Tx. It was there he met and married Elizabeth Louise Machen in 1952. Early in his career, he was an outstanding teacher and coach at Hinton High School. In high school, he led tiny Matoaka High School to a West Virginia State Basketball Championship under his father, Roy Byrd, as coach. Byrd received all three degrees from WVU; bachelor's (1948), master's (1953), and doctorate (1967). Over the years, he has earned many honors, including induction into the West Virginia Sportswriters Hall of Fame; the WVU Sports Hall of Fame; and the WVU School of Physical Education Hall of Fame. He was also named the WVU School of Physical Education's outstanding alumnus in 1996. Dr. Byrd was active on many NCAA boards and committees and was on the board of the U.S. Information Agency. In 2010, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at WVU introduced the Leland Byrd Leadership Award which is presented to the top WVU men's and women's basketball players for leadership both on and off the court. In addition to his professional career, Byrd was an Eagle Scout, president of the WVU Junior Class, and a member of Mountain honorary. Leland and his wife, Louise, have five daughters: Debbie, Becky, Cindy, Mary, and Nacy and seven grandchildren: Chris, Macall, Christopher, Lauren, Christine, Derek, and Taylor. |
