Mid-South football fans may recognize a familiar face roaming the Jacksonville State sidelines Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

JSU coach Jack Crowe returns to the Mid-South to lead his 1-AA squad (oops, sorry, 1-AA no longer exists, it’s now the Football Championship Subdivision) against Memphis. Crowe was named coach at the University of Arkansas in 1990 after Ken Hatfield left abruptly to take the Clemson job.

Crowe didn’t have a great run at Arkansas. Outgoing AD Frank Broyles dismissed Crowe one game into his third season after he opened with a loss at home to The Citadel. So infuriated was Broyles that immediately after the game he hustled from the press box to the field, bypassing the elevator, taking the stadium steps and zipping past the media to begin the process of replacing Crowe.

Too bad it didn’t work out for Crowe, who also coached at Auburn, Clemson and Baylor. He is a class act. It’s nice to see him enjoying some success at Jacksonville State, which has gone 30-17 since 2003 under Crowe.