OKLAHOMA CITY – Last week the East Central University football team saw two with ties to the program earn awards by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and The National Football Foundations.  On June 16^th, former head coach Pat O'Neal was honored was the 2015 recipient of the Merv Johnson Integrity in Coach Award and senior Cole Weber was named the Tigers' NFF Oklahoma Chapter College Player of the Year.

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Weber is one of 10 players from collegiate schools across all divisions in Oklahoma to earn the honor this season.  A recipient from each school can be selected and the award is based on the student-athletes performance on and off the field.

The Davis, Okla., native finished the 2014 season with51 total tackles (20-31), 4.0 tackles-for-loss (six yards), two quarterback hurries and one blocked kicked.  He also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against Northwestern Oklahoma State.

The linebacker is also a standout in the classroom carrying a 3.63 GPA in kinesiology.  He has also earned Great American Conference and D2ADA All-Academic honors for the last two seasons.

O'Neal was honored with the Merv Johnson Integrity in Coach Award after spending 18 years at the helm of the Tiger program (1972-89).  The coaching legend earned a reputation of running one of the finest and cleanest programs in the NAIA ranks and one of the most successful ones as well.

 During his tenure, O'Neal won 96 games and surpassed his predecessor – the legendary Elvan George – as the all-time winningest coach at ECU.  O'Neal-led teams won or shared eight Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference titles and made the school's first NAIA play-off appearance in 1984 after finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country.

O'Neal produced over 70 all-conference players, nine All-Americans and seven professional players, including New York Jets Hall of Famer Mark Geastineau.

After graduating from Ada High School where he was a stand0out football player for the Cougars, O'Neal attended the University of Oklahoma where he was a quarterback for the Sooner during Bud Wilkinson's 47-game winning streak – a feat that has yet to be matched.

O'Neal graduated from OU in 1956 and returned to his hometown in '59 to serve as an assistant under Elvan George who was entering his first year in charge of the Tiger program.  The Tigers finished 7-4 in 1959 for their first winning season in 11 years and appeared in the Christmas Bowl, the first bowl game appearance for ECU.

During the next 11 years, ECU established itself as one of the premier small-college football programs in the country under coach George.  The Tigers did not have a losing season under George until his final year at the helm (1971) when the club finished 3-7.

As it turned out, O'Neal, who had studied under George as an assistant for 12 year before taking over in 1972, adopted much of the same coaching theories on both sides of the ball.  His tenure as head coach will be remembered for the relentless ground-oriented option attack and the aggressive, hard –nosed defense that produced some of the greatest players in Tiger history.