Mike Flynt
Encyclopedia
Mike Flynt is a linebacker for Division III Sul Ross State University
in Alpine, Texas and wears the number 49. Flynt is a strength coach by trade and was a conditioning coach at Nebraska, Oregon and Texas A&M. He is the inventor of the Powerbase Fitness exercise equipment. Clients for the Powerbase system include school systems and the military. Part of his life story includes being the son of a Battle of the Bulge survivor and having dabbled in gold mines and oil wells.
when the Razorbacks were among the top football teams in the United States. However, he attended Ranger Junior College
instead.
He later attended Sul Ross State
in 1969, which was a member of the NAIA
. The Sul Ross State Lobos were in the Lone Star Conference
with East Texas State
, a school that featured future NFL
stars Harvey Martin
and Dwight White
. Another rival at the time was Texas A&I
, which was starting a two-year run as national champs. The highlight of Flynt's two years at Sul Ross was participating in a victory against A&I with its only loss in '69. Flynt had been a team captain and the leading tackler as a junior.
Starting his senior year in 1971 Flynt was involved in a physical fight. School officials decided that due to his history with fights on campus, he would be expelled. He still earned his degree from Sul Ross State by taking his remaining classes elsewhere.
At a reunion of former Sul Ross students from the 1960s and '70s, and while speaking to a former college roommate, Randy Wilson, Flynt mentioned how he had wanted to participate in the '71 season. Wilson suggested he make a comeback.
at the time, told his wife about the idea. They've sold their suburban Nashville home and are now living in Alpine, Texas
a town of about 6,000 residents near the Big Bend National Park, a three-hour drive from the nearest major airport.
He is a grandfather and is retired. His youngest child is a freshman
at the University of Tennessee
. Two of his children are older than any of his teammates.
He is eight years older than his own coach, Steve Wright. He played his last collegiate game for the Sul Ross State Lobos in 1970. In 1971, he was thrown out of the university. One of his original college coaches was Jerry Larned, and he has counselled him at the start of his comeback. Despite the fact that he is two generations older than his teammates, Flynt, a career strength and conditioning coach, told the publication Sports Illustrated
that he can still do some things in the weightroom that the other players can't. Flynt says he can still do 25 consecutive pull-ups, for example.
He missed the first two games of the 2007 season with a pinched nerve
in his neck. In a game on September 15 versus rival Mary Hardin-Baylor
, the Lobos were down by a score of 55-14. Flynt's fan club, known as the "Sul Ross Baby Boomers", along with Mary Hardin-Baylor's "Couch Cru" student section chanted for number 49 to come into the game. Once he plays, he will become the second-oldest man to play in an NCAA game. Neither the NCAA or NAIA keeps age as a statistic, but research hasn't turned up anyone older than their mid-40s playing NCAA Football.
Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University , a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969....
in Alpine, Texas and wears the number 49. Flynt is a strength coach by trade and was a conditioning coach at Nebraska, Oregon and Texas A&M. He is the inventor of the Powerbase Fitness exercise equipment. Clients for the Powerbase system include school systems and the military. Part of his life story includes being the son of a Battle of the Bulge survivor and having dabbled in gold mines and oil wells.
Early career
In 1965, he was on the first state championship team at Odessa Permian, the high school featured in Friday Night Lights. He was offered a partial scholarship at ArkansasArkansas Razorbacks football
The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
when the Razorbacks were among the top football teams in the United States. However, he attended Ranger Junior College
Ranger College
Ranger College is a community college located in Ranger, Texas, a small town west of Fort Worth, Texas. The college's website asserts that it "is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in continuous operation in the state of Texas." In conjunction with its main campus in Ranger, the college...
instead.
He later attended Sul Ross State
Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University , a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969....
in 1969, which was a member of the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
. The Sul Ross State Lobos were in the Lone Star Conference
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico...
with East Texas State
Texas A&M University–Commerce
Texas A&M University–Commerce is a state university located in Commerce, Texas and a member of the Texas A&M University System, the second largest university within the system behind Texas A&M University in College Station....
, a school that featured future NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
stars Harvey Martin
Harvey Martin
Harvey Banks Martin was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He started playing football in high school, only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son did not play like his friends'...
and Dwight White
Dwight White
Dwight Lynn White was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense....
. Another rival at the time was Texas A&I
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a U.S. national university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign countries...
, which was starting a two-year run as national champs. The highlight of Flynt's two years at Sul Ross was participating in a victory against A&I with its only loss in '69. Flynt had been a team captain and the leading tackler as a junior.
Starting his senior year in 1971 Flynt was involved in a physical fight. School officials decided that due to his history with fights on campus, he would be expelled. He still earned his degree from Sul Ross State by taking his remaining classes elsewhere.
At a reunion of former Sul Ross students from the 1960s and '70s, and while speaking to a former college roommate, Randy Wilson, Flynt mentioned how he had wanted to participate in the '71 season. Wilson suggested he make a comeback.
Division III Football
His motivation to return to football occurred while he was drinking beer and swapping stories with some old football buddies. He brought up the biggest regret of his life: Getting kicked off the college team before his senior year. Flynt found out he was eligible to return to Sul Ross State. Flynt, who was living in Franklin, TennesseeFranklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
at the time, told his wife about the idea. They've sold their suburban Nashville home and are now living in Alpine, Texas
Alpine, Texas
Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,786 people at the 2000 census, and had increased to 5,905 by 2010.-History:...
a town of about 6,000 residents near the Big Bend National Park, a three-hour drive from the nearest major airport.
He is a grandfather and is retired. His youngest child is a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
. Two of his children are older than any of his teammates.
He is eight years older than his own coach, Steve Wright. He played his last collegiate game for the Sul Ross State Lobos in 1970. In 1971, he was thrown out of the university. One of his original college coaches was Jerry Larned, and he has counselled him at the start of his comeback. Despite the fact that he is two generations older than his teammates, Flynt, a career strength and conditioning coach, told the publication Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
that he can still do some things in the weightroom that the other players can't. Flynt says he can still do 25 consecutive pull-ups, for example.
He missed the first two games of the 2007 season with a pinched nerve
Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy is not a specific condition, but rather a description of a problem in which one or more nerves are affected and do not work properly . The emphasis is on the nerve root...
in his neck. In a game on September 15 versus rival Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
The University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, generally referred to as UMHB, is a Christian co-educational liberal arts institution of higher learning located in Belton, Texas, United States. Founded by the Republic of Texas in 1845 as "Baylor Female College," it has grown to approximately 2,700 students...
, the Lobos were down by a score of 55-14. Flynt's fan club, known as the "Sul Ross Baby Boomers", along with Mary Hardin-Baylor's "Couch Cru" student section chanted for number 49 to come into the game. Once he plays, he will become the second-oldest man to play in an NCAA game. Neither the NCAA or NAIA keeps age as a statistic, but research hasn't turned up anyone older than their mid-40s playing NCAA Football.