UA News

Hall-of-Fame high school football coach Vern Friedli is being honored with a student scholarship fund in his name.

A student scholarship has been created in The University of Arizona College of Education in honor of Amphitheater High School football coach Vernon F. Friedli.

Friedli, recently inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has more than 300 career wins and a state championship. Friedli received both his undergraduate (1961) and graduate (1964) degrees from the UA College of Education.

The College of Education is extremely grateful for the scholarship endowment to honor coach Friedli,said College of Education Dean Ronald W. Marx. "We are especially pleased to recognize his commitment to youth and to keep the torch burning for superior athletic and academic achievement of our students."

The University of Arizona Foundation established the scholarship in recognition of Friedli's commitment to serving as a positive influence in the lives of thousands of student-athletes during his 45-year career.

"Other than my parents, grandparents and Father Adolf, no person played a greater role in my life growing up," said Craig Barker, senior vice president of financial services at the UA Foundation. Barker played for Friedli in his first season at Amphi. "Mr. Friedli taught us important life lessons about doing your best, setting goals and the value of hard work. I am thrilled that he is being honored in this way."

Friedli's former players include Olympic Bronze Medalist Michael Bates, former Tucson Chief of Police Richard Miranda and Dr. Phillip Heine of the Duke University School of Medicine. All three earned degrees at the UA.

"He brought out the best in everybody," said Miranda, now Tucson's assistant city manager. "To this day, some 45 years after we first met, the lessons he taught me I practice on a daily basis. He still occasionally sends me letters reminding me of my responsibilities and the commitments to our community that I have made."

The scholarship is available to graduates of Amphitheater, Sunnyside and Morenci high schools, all places Friedli worked or coached in his career.

Gifts to the Vernon F. Friedli Scholarship Endowment can be made by selecting the College of Education link at uafoundation.org/givenow.