[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING COACH BILL HIGDON

  (Mr. BURCHETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURCHETT. Madam Speaker, I recognize my dear friend, Coach Bill 
Higdon, who is turning 80 years old this month.
  Coach Higdon retired from the University of Tennessee in 2009 and was 
inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, something I 
will never be inducted into. Coach Higdon had a career at UT athletics 
that spanned 35 years.
  Coach Higdon played basketball at Holston High School in east 
Tennessee and described himself as an ordinary basketball player. He 
wanted to pursue coaching and took the path that led into multiple 
sports.
  Bill was a basketball graduate assistant at Western Kentucky 
University when they reached the Final Four. He went on to recruit for 
the UT football team. He was still working in an administrative role 
when the Volunteers played in the College World Series not once, not 
twice, but three times.
  Bill loved his work as a recruiter, and he was great at it. He was 
named one of the top recruiting coordinators of the year under Coach 
Johnny Majors when Coach Majors returned to the University of 
Tennessee.

  Happy birthday to Coach Higdon. His work at UT is legendary. He 
deserves a spot in the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.
  Coach and Sue-Sue have an incredible life. They have two wonderful 
children and four grandchildren. On a very personal note, he was always 
so kind to my parents before they left this Earth, and he took care of 
us. Coach is a great man, and I love him.

                          ____________________