Edmond Memorial: Mike de la Garza happy for Bill Blankenship...

By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com

From being the head coach at Spiro to now being the head football coach at the University of Tulsa, it’s been a long road traveled by Bill Blankenship.

But one former colleague said Tulsa could not have chosen a better candidate.

“Holy smokes! That’s tremendous,” said Edmond Memorial athletic director Mike de la Garza upon hearing Blankenship was getting the job. “Bill understands the overall picture and can run a program. He’s a great choice.”

Blankenship was officially announced as the new head coach for the Golden Hurricane on Friday afternoon. Former coach Todd Graham resigned Monday to become the head coach at Pittsburgh. Tulsa was 10-3 this year and closed the year on a seven-game winning streak and ranked No. 24 by the Associated Press.

And it’s not like Blankenship hasn’t entered a coaching spot with high expectations before. Blankenship came to Memorial after Edmond’s state championship in 1989 and knew what the pressures were. But de la Garza said Blankenship did fine with the program.

After his stint at Edmond, Blankenship took over the Tulsa Union program and helped make it the dominant force it still is today.