Hooper Eblen
Hooper Eblen (November 16, 1911 – June 30, 1976) was an American coach for football and basketball. He led Tennessee Tech’s football team from 1947 to 1949, finishing with a 12–19 record, and was the school’s basketball coach for the 1947–48 season, going 18–7. He later served as Tennessee Tech’s athletic director from 1962 to 1974. Eblen died of a heart attack in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Born in Kingston, Tennessee, Eblen played football at Tennessee Wesleyan College (1933–1934) as a fullback and at the University of Tennessee (1934–1936), where he lettered in 1935. He also played basketball at Tennessee Wesleyan (1934–1936) as a forward.
His coaching career began at Whitwell High School in 1936, then Carter High School (1937–1938) in Strawberry Plains, where he coached both football and basketball. He returned to Tennessee Wesleyan as head football coach (1939–1940) and also coached basketball there. In 1941 he joined Tennessee Tech as backfield coach, and again coached backfield in 1946. He left TTU to study at the University of Michigan, earning a master’s degree in physical education, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before returning to Tennessee Tech. In January 1947 he became head football coach at TTU.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:12 (CET).