Dec. 16, 2004

HOUSTON, Texas - University of Houston head football coach Art Briles today announced the addition of Alan Weddell to his defensive staff. The former successful head coach at LaMarque High School will coach the Cougar linebackers.

Briles, who has known Weddell for quite some time in the Texas coaching ranks, believes his addition to the Cougar staff is nothing but a positive move.

"Not only is Alan a proven football coach," commented Briles, "but he is a proven man. He brings both experience and integrity to our football program, and he is a great guy to have on our staff.

"Plus, he knows the state of Texas, both at the high school and collegiate level. That is huge for this football team."

Weddell comes to UH after a spending the last season at Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas, where he was the defensive coordinator. Prior to that, Weddell spent five seasons at Texas A&M, where he coached the Aggie middle linebackers. In those five years in College Station, Weddell was a part of four bowl teams (1998 Sugar Bowl, 1999 Alamo Bowl, 2000 Independence Bowl and 2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl) and the 1998 Big XII championship team.

While at A&M, Weddell coached Dat Nguyen, the 1998 Lombardi and Bednarik Awards winner and a 1999 NFL third-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys. He also coached both Cornelius Anthony and Harold Robertson, who played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

Weddell made his mark at LaMarque High School, just south of Houston, where he turned the Cougar program into one of the perennial powerhouses in Texas high school football. From 1990 until 1997, Weddell coached LaMarque, guiding the Cougars to three straight state championships (1995-97) and five consecutive appearances in the state title game.

Under Weddell's leadership LaMarque captured seven district championships and reeled off a 4A/5A record 50 consecutive wins at one point. He is a six-time District Coach-of-the-Year and a Galveston County Coach-of-the-Year on three different occasions. He has picked up several other coach-of-the-year honors and served as the head coach of the South squad in the 1997 Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star game.

Weddell racked up an impressive 103-13 record as the Cougar mentor.

Prior to LaMarque, Weddell spent over a decade (1978-89) at Victoria (Texas) High School, including the last eight as the head coach. He coached the Stingrays to a 47-32-1 record from 1982-89, winning district championships in 1986 and in 1989. He was twice named 26-5A Coach-of-the-Year and won 35 of his last 40 regular season games at Victoria High.

Weddell began his coaching career as an assistant at Angleton (Texas) High School, where coached both junior varsity and varsity from 1973-77.

A member of the 1970 national championship team at the University of Texas, Weddell graduated in 1973 from the Austin school with a bachelor's degree in production engineering. He later earned a master's degree in education and administration from the University of Houston at Victoria.

The native of Lake Jackson, Texas, has one son, Mark, who is 23. He was the 1994 Texas City/LaMarque Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year and was the chairman of the LaMarque City Parks Board from 1990-97.

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