Written by John Mark Adkison
Seven seconds are left in the game. The temperature is 26 degrees, the wind is pushing strong at a speed of 25 mph, giving their opponents the upper hand. It is the last game of the season, and the two teams are tied. Then quarterback Tom Ed Gooden gets the ball, makes a 41-yard boot, makes the field goal and leads the Harding College Bisons to victory in the second annual Cowboy Bowl.Wait a minute. Harding College Bisons?Yes, Harding College Bisons, because the year is 1972. 38 years ago, Harding’s football team had a record-setting 10-1 season, which was magnified by winning its first bowl game, also its first Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) championship victory.According to the 1972 Petit Jean yearbook, the ’72 Bisons were ranked in the top 15 in the NAIA, which gave them a bid for their first bowl game in Lawton, Okla., against the Langston Lions. Known as the Cowboy Bowl, the game was also referred to as the “Ice Bowl.” Not only was it snowing, but the wind was pushing hard against the Bisons, making their triumph all the more spectacular.But there was more to that season than record-breaking victories. The team itself was a strong fellowship of deeply spiritual men. Three players from that season can all be found teaching in the McInteer building.”The seniors and other players provided strong spiritual leadership,” said Gary Gregg, who played defensive back for the Bisons from ’69 to ’73 and is now associate director of the Center for Advanced Ministry Training. “It made us into a very unique team. Many life-long friends came from that season.”According to Gregg, the team was strongly spiritually focused. Every Wednesday night the team got together for a time of devotional known as “football church.””The team had great chemistry,” said Dr. Adrian Hickmon, who was a freshman defensive end in ’72 and is now a counselor for the Center of Marriage and Family. “We had just the right combination of players. Many life-long friends came from that season.”The head coach of the ’72 team was John Prock, who coached the Bisons from 1964 to 1987. The other coaches included defensive backs coach Jerry Mote, offensive lines coach Dick Johnson, and defensive lines coach Cliff Sharp. Both Mote and Johnson became elders for the Downtown Church of Christ, and Sharp went on to start a child adoption program in Tennessee.”The coaches were strict and demanding, but they were fair and fun,” Gregg said. “I really modeled them a lot when I went into coaching. Looking back at what is really important, I know athletics are not important. But athletics can be used as a tool or vehicle for the Lord. The coaches understood the big picture of eternity.”The ’72 Bisons became a family of spiritual men who loved their teammates. Dr. Ken Neller, now a professor of New Testament and Greek for the College of Bible and Religion, was a walk-on freshman who played offensive guard.”My favorite memories of the bowl were being there, freezing to death, and the exhilaration of Tom Ed’s zillion-yard goal at the last minute to win the game,” Neller said.Even though the weather was freezing, the competition was fierce, and the wind was set against them, the 1972 Bisons came out champions, taking the lessons they learned from that season and using them to go long in life.
