Ron Calcagni is a former quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 for the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

 Razorbacks football

Arkansas 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...

 team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rein

Bo Rein

Robert Edward "Bo" Rein was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He was a two-sport athlete at Ohio State University and served as the head football coach at North Carolina State University from 1976 to 1979, compiling a record of 27–18–1...

 to play for North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. However, Rein left North Carolina State to coach under Frank Broyles

Frank Broyles

John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...

 at Arkansas and convinced Calcagni to follow him there. Rein would return to North Carolina State as head coach before Calcagni graduated from Arkansas. http://books.google.com/books?id=FSPNXtC6ueQC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=ron+calcagni+arkansas&source=bl&ots=MpT-Thr8Wk&sig=zsT_ycn3wbQRPJNtEIcoGmGzQuI&hl=en&ei=lVseTfCBA4qr8Aa77sSTDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=ron%20calcagni%20arkansas&f=false

Calcagni had a record setting career with Arkansas. His 25–4–2 winning record made him the winningest quarterback in Razorbacks history. Calcagni is perhaps best known for his role in the defeat of the heavily favored #2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners football

The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

 in the 1978 Orange Bowl

1978 Orange Bowl

The 1978 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1978, featuring the Arkansas Razorbacks against the heavily-favored Oklahoma Sooners....

. Following that upset victory Calcagni and head coach Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz

Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...

 were on the September 11th, 1978 cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/cover/Ron_Calcagni/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/dd/index.htm He also helped the Razorbacks to a 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic

1976 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the co-Southwest Conference champion #18 Arkansas Razorbacks and the #12 Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas defeated Georgia, 31-10 in front of 77,500 spectators.-Arkansas:...

 victory over the University of Georgia

Georgia Bulldogs football

The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...

 and a Fiesta Bowl

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...

 tie with UCLA.

During his time at Arkansas Calcagni played alongside Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 great Dan Hampton

Dan Hampton

Daniel Oliver Hampton also known as "Danimal" is a retired Hall of Fame American football defensive tackle who played twelve seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002...

, running back Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins is a former college football running back who played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975-1978. He was the University of Arkansas all-time leader in rushing attempts , rushing yards , rushing touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games prior to all his team records being...

 and record setting kicker Steve Little

Steve Little (American football)

Steven Richard Little was an American football kicker and punter in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the third-highest drafted kicker in NFL history, with first highest pick being Charlie Gogolak of Princeton University and second being Russell Erxleben...

. The Razorbacks went 10-2 in 1975, 5-5-1 in 1976, 11-1 in 1977 and 9-2-1 in 1978 with Calcagni as starting quarterback.

Professional and coaching careers

Despite his success in college Calcagni was not drafted into the NFL. He played three seasons in the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 for the Montreal Alouettes

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 and the Ottawa Rough Riders

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 before entering into a career as a coach. He worked as quarterbacks and receivers coach for the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa

University of Tulsa

The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...

. Calcagni worked as inside receivers coach for the University of Houston

Houston Cougars football

The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...

from 1987 to 1991. Ron Calcagni currently is the head coach for the Pulaski Heights Middle School Panthers where he has won two district championships. He has also served as the President of Marketing for Arkansas Sports Entertainment.