The longtime coach of the University at Albany’s football team says he will retire after the season.
Bob Ford has been a fixture in Capital Region sports since he took over what was then a newly reinstated club team in 1970. More than four decades later, Ford told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the Great Danes’ first season in their brand new stadium will be his last.
The Springfield College graduate has 264 career victories, and has shepherded the program through the jump to Division I in 1999 and a leap to the Colonial Athletic Association this year.
Speculation about the 75-year-old Ford’s future had been an annual summer rite around the Great Danes in recent years. In announcing his departure now, two weeks before the season kicks off, Ford has ensured that his 44th season will be his last.
UAlbany, meanwhile, will continue playing on Bob Ford Field.
