| Nash Higgins | |
| Birth Date: | 29 February 1896 |
| Birth Place: | Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Wabash College |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | ? |
| Coach Team2: | Joliet HS (IL) |
| Coach Years3: | 1920–1922 |
| Coach Team3: | Earlham (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1926 |
| Coach Team4: | Hillsborough HS (FL) |
| Coach Years5: | 1927–1932 |
| Coach Team5: | Florida (assistant) |
| Coach Years6: | 1933–1940 |
| Coach Team6: | Tampa |
| Coach Sport7: | Track and field |
| Coach Years8: | 1920–1922 |
| Coach Team8: | Earlham (assistant) |
| Coach Years9: | 1923–1925 |
| Coach Team9: | Wabash |
| Coach Years10: | 1928–1933 |
| Coach Team10: | Florida |
| Admin Years1: | 1923–1925 |
| Admin Team1: | Wabash (assistant AD) |
| Admin Years2: | 1933–1940 |
| Admin Team2: | Tampa |
| Overall Record: | 36–39–5 (college football) |
| Awards: | Florida Sports Hall of Fame Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame NAIA Football Hall of Fame |
Alfred Nash Higgins (February 29, 1896 – October 29, 1984) was an American football and track and field coach as well as athletic director, the first in the history of the University of Tampa. He later worked as superintendent of recreation for the Hillsborough County Defense Council and the county's school department athletic facilities planner.[1] [2]
Higgins attended Wabash College.[3]
Higgins was an assistant under coach Ray B. Mowe at Earlham College.
Higgins coached track and field at his alma mater.[4] The 1923 track team tied for 11th place in the NCAA meet at Stagg Field.[5]
Higgins coached at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida in 1926, leading his team to the state championship.[6] [7] On the team were Jimmy Steele and Carlos Proctor. Proctor gave rival St. Petersburg High School its only loss with a field goal.[8]
Higgins came to the University of Florida after coaching football at Hillsborough.[9] He was an assistant football coach, holding the title of chief football scout,[10] and head track coach under Charlie Bachman for the Florida Gators. The 1928 Florida Gators football team led the nation in scoring. He was expected to follow Bachman as head coach, already recommended by the committee on athletics,[11] when 26-year old Dutch Stanley was hired.
After his time with the Gators, he was the first head coach and athletic director at the University of Tampa.[12] [13] In a March 27, 1933 letter, offering the position of athletic director to Higgins, university president Frederic Spaulding wrote: "We particularly want anyone who accepts a position with us to feel enthusiastic about the school, and freely and wholeheartedly devote himself to its growth and improvement. We want men who are willing to give their best service unstintingly, and feel they are making an investment for the future."[14]
Higgins picked the school's colors of red, black, and gold; combining those of Hillsborough High (red and black) with Plant High School (gold and black).[15] His assistant while at Tampa was former fellow Gator assistant Alvin Pierson.
Tampa still holds the Nash Higgins Relays named in his honor. He was inducted into the Tampa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1962;[16] and the NAIA Football Hall of Fame in 1959.[17]