David Bazzel was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at linebacker for the University of Arkansas from 1981-85.
The former Mosley Dolphin was a defensive team captain for the 1985 unit that did not allow a rushing touchdown during the conference portion of the regular season. The Razorbacks went 34-12-2 and played in four bowl games during Bazzel’s college career.
Hold on to that information like you would a pair in five-card draw.
Now 50, Bazzel was inducted Feb. 28 into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in Little Rock. That’s not the university’s hall of fame, but the organization that represents every athletic contribution throughout the entire state.
Consider what Bazzel has contributed since he turned in his helmet and shoulder pads.
Among his innovations and achievements:
- Created the Frank Broyles Award for the nation’s top college assistant football coach.
- Founded the Little Rock Touchdown Club in 2004.
- Created the Cliff Harris Award for the top small college defensive back.
- Created the Dan Hampton Award, for the top high school defensive lineman and top collegiate defensive lineman in Arkansas.
- Created the Willie Roaf Award for the top collegiate offensive lineman in Arkansas.
- Created the Battle of the Boot trophy five years ago to commemorate the football rivalry between Arkansas and LSU. The trophy is molded in the shape of the adjoining states and weighs nearly 200 pounds.
- Advanced high school weightlifting statewide, including the first state tournament more than 20 years ago, when he worked in marketing for Gold’s Gym.
- Was chairman of the Arkansas Governor’s Council on Fitness for nine years serving governors Bill Clinton, Jim Guy Tucker and Mike Huckabee.
- Advised Broyles on marketing issues when Broyles was Arkansas athletic director.
Filled out that pair yet?
Bazzel cherished his time spent competing on the football field, but truly has embraced his post-athletic career while cognizant that one was the extension of the other.
He said that it all began with a prayer when he was a high school senior that he would attend college where he could become heavily involved in the community.
“I’ve had a chance to do some cool things in the community,” Bazzel said Friday from Little Rock, where he co-hosts the morning drive-time program on Little Rock radio station KABZ-FM. “A lot of these projects, and I’ve done 3,000 speaking engagements … I’m recognized for what I’ve done off the field.
“I was in some great games with some great players, but I wasn’t the biggest guy in the world. I think I did everything I could physically, and now the input I get from Arkansans, when they show up and really appreciate the things I do, that makes me feel good. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”
As a result, his name is included among former Arkansas-bred athletic heavyweights such as Brooks Robinson, Don Hutson and Barry Switzer.
For Bazzel, the realization of a game well played, so to speak, came the first time his name appeared on the ballot.
“That was a couple years ago, and I know good and well it’s more for what I’ve done off the field, but at the same time I had to be successful on the field,” Bazzel said. “When my name was on the ballot, that’s when it really hit me. That people recognized what I did and were really appreciative. They really embraced me.”
Bazzel said that he had a “blank sheet when I left Florida,” and knew two people when he arrived in Fayetteville, Ark., in August 1981. One of them was head football coach Lou Holtz, who recruited him. The other was a student he met at the beach here.
The idea for the Broyles Award, named for the Razorback icon who mentored many enterprising coaches came to fruition 18 years ago. Bazzel said that it also cost him some of his own money to get it established.
“A lot of these things I don’t do to make money, I get the benefit when I see crowds show up,” Bazzel said. “Gus Malzahn got a raise of $400,000 when he won the Broyles Award” in 2010 when an offensive coordinator at Auburn. Otherwise, in addition to the trophy, the award bestows just $2,500 to the winner.
In addition to his current radio gig, Bazzel also has done TV anchor work for an NBC affiliate, reporting for an ABC affiliate and a weekly fitness column for the statewide newspaper. He’s been able to use his contacts in the media and knowledge of communications to help provide a platform to promote his projects.
“I don’t hit a home run every time, but I have a good track record,” Bazzel said.
Future endeavors could continue to be sports-driven, he said, or might be charity-related. They remain in the back of his mind, waiting for him to find the time and regenerate the passion to get around to them.
The past year, he said, was his most demanding. In addition to his existing obligations, the Harris Award for small college defensive backs encompassed athletes from 500 schools in NCAA Division II and III and NAIA.
Arkansans continue to appreciate Bazzel’s initiative and contribution. Gone from here for more than three decades now, they’ve embraced him as one of their own.
“Sometimes I think, wow! That decision I made in 1981 really turned out to be a good decision.”