Former assistant football coach passes away at 83
6/19/2017 12:20:00 PM | Football
VOCA, Texas – Longtime ACU football assistant coach K.Y. Owens, who was part of a legendary Wildcat coaching staff, passed away Saturday (June 17) in Voca. He was 83.
Funeral services for Owens will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (June 20) at the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ in Brady. Interment will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery in Brady. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 5-7 p.m. at Leatherwood Memorial Chapels in Brady.
Owens served as nine seasons as an assistant football coach at ACU, and the Wildcats were 55-36-2 in his nine seasons (1967-75) with one national championship, the 1973 NAIA Division I title. Owens graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 1956 where he was an all-conference fullback under coaches Murray Evans and Sammy Baugh.
Owens is the only man in Abilene to be part of a pair of local collegiate athletics halls of fame. Owens was inducted into the Hardin-Simmons University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in February 2005. Owens was the defensive coordinator for the Wildcats, and was also an assistant professor in the ACU Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
Owens served on the same staff as head coach Wally Bullington and assistant coaches Ted Sitton, Don Smith, Jerry Wilson and James Lyda, forming the backbone of, perhaps, the greatest coaching staff in ACU athletics history.
Owens coached football and track at Brady High School from 1956-65 and at Texas A&I University in 1966 before joining the ACU staff under Bullington. During his six years as the head coach at Brady, he led his team to four district titles and a state semifinal appearance in 1962. He left ACU in 1975 to become the director of athletics and the physical education program for the Conroe public school system.
He retired in 1990 from Andrews High School where he was Assistant Principal. He was named to the Hardin- Simmons Hall of Fame as a player and to the Abilene Christian University Hall of Fame as a Coach. He and Peggy moved back to Voca in 1991 and they were members of the Voca Church of Christ.
Owens is survived by his daughters Kay Ann Edwards and husband Randall of Stephenville, Beth Hall and husband DeWayne of Edmond, Okla.; grandchildren Courtney Brock and husband John, Amy Kay Tietjen and husband Matt, Justin Hall and wife Krystal, Eric Edwards and Drew Hall; and great-grandchildren Riley, Reid, and Reece Brock; and Mason and Hudson Tietjen. He's also survived by sisters Tony Belle Taylor and Queen Alice Townsend, and brother-in-law and wife Jack and Minnetta Edmiston. Owens was preceded in death by his parents and wife Peggy.
His son-in-law, Randall Edwards, is a former ACU student-athlete, and his grandson, Eric Edwards, was a starting linebacker for the ACU football team from 2007-10, helping lead the Wildcats to a pair of undefeated regular seasons (2008 and 2010), two Lone Star Conference championships (2008 and 2010) and four straight NCAA Division II playoff appearances.
Memorial contributions in memory of K.Y. Owens may be made to the Cherokee Home For Children, P.O. Box 295, Cherokee, Texas 76832 or go to www.chc4kids.org and/or the Heart of Texas Bible Camp, c/o Sunset Ridge Church of Christ, P.O. Box 830, Brady, Texas 76825.
Funeral services for Owens will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (June 20) at the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ in Brady. Interment will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery in Brady. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 5-7 p.m. at Leatherwood Memorial Chapels in Brady.
Owens served as nine seasons as an assistant football coach at ACU, and the Wildcats were 55-36-2 in his nine seasons (1967-75) with one national championship, the 1973 NAIA Division I title. Owens graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 1956 where he was an all-conference fullback under coaches Murray Evans and Sammy Baugh.
Owens is the only man in Abilene to be part of a pair of local collegiate athletics halls of fame. Owens was inducted into the Hardin-Simmons University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in February 2005. Owens was the defensive coordinator for the Wildcats, and was also an assistant professor in the ACU Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
Owens served on the same staff as head coach Wally Bullington and assistant coaches Ted Sitton, Don Smith, Jerry Wilson and James Lyda, forming the backbone of, perhaps, the greatest coaching staff in ACU athletics history.
Owens coached football and track at Brady High School from 1956-65 and at Texas A&I University in 1966 before joining the ACU staff under Bullington. During his six years as the head coach at Brady, he led his team to four district titles and a state semifinal appearance in 1962. He left ACU in 1975 to become the director of athletics and the physical education program for the Conroe public school system.
He retired in 1990 from Andrews High School where he was Assistant Principal. He was named to the Hardin- Simmons Hall of Fame as a player and to the Abilene Christian University Hall of Fame as a Coach. He and Peggy moved back to Voca in 1991 and they were members of the Voca Church of Christ.
Owens is survived by his daughters Kay Ann Edwards and husband Randall of Stephenville, Beth Hall and husband DeWayne of Edmond, Okla.; grandchildren Courtney Brock and husband John, Amy Kay Tietjen and husband Matt, Justin Hall and wife Krystal, Eric Edwards and Drew Hall; and great-grandchildren Riley, Reid, and Reece Brock; and Mason and Hudson Tietjen. He's also survived by sisters Tony Belle Taylor and Queen Alice Townsend, and brother-in-law and wife Jack and Minnetta Edmiston. Owens was preceded in death by his parents and wife Peggy.
His son-in-law, Randall Edwards, is a former ACU student-athlete, and his grandson, Eric Edwards, was a starting linebacker for the ACU football team from 2007-10, helping lead the Wildcats to a pair of undefeated regular seasons (2008 and 2010), two Lone Star Conference championships (2008 and 2010) and four straight NCAA Division II playoff appearances.
Memorial contributions in memory of K.Y. Owens may be made to the Cherokee Home For Children, P.O. Box 295, Cherokee, Texas 76832 or go to www.chc4kids.org and/or the Heart of Texas Bible Camp, c/o Sunset Ridge Church of Christ, P.O. Box 830, Brady, Texas 76825.
ACU Press Conference: Abilene Flying Bison to Play at ACU in 2026
Tuesday, April 07
ACU Baseball: Rick McCarty Press Conference | April 6, 2026
Monday, April 06
ACU Softball: Jo Koons Press Conference | April 6, 2026
Monday, April 06
ACU Baseball: Rick McCarty Press Conference | March 31, 2026
Tuesday, March 31
