Drake University's greatest football player of all time. Bright is the only Drake football player to have his jersey number (#43) retired by the school, and in June 2006, received honorable mention from ESPN.com senior writer Ivan Maisel as one of the best college football players to ever wear #43. In February 2006, the football field at Drake Stadium, in Des Moines, Iowa, was named in his honor. In November 2006, Bright was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#19) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. In 1972, the Bulldogs returned to their first bowl appearance in 3 years. They captured a share of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, after being away from the league for 20 years, with a 4-1 record in conference play. The only conference loss was to 18th AP Ranked Louisville (Led by Tom Jackson, All-Pro Linebacker, Denver Broncos, and former ESPN Analyst). They went on to play Tennessee State and Ed 'Too Tall' Jones (All-Pro Defensive End, Dallas Cowboys) in the Pioneer Bowl, which proved to be a difficult challenge in a 29-7 loss, finishing with a 7-5 record overall. During this return to bowl competition, coach Jim Johnson was the defensive coordinator and Jack Wallace was the head coach. In 1999, Jim Johnson became the Defensive Coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles under head coach Andy Reid. The most successful Drake team in the modern era of college football was the 1981 Bulldogs team. Drake finished the season with 10 wins and nearly had an undefeated season. The Bulldogs lost 59–6 to Tulsa ending their chance at a perfect season. With a 7–4–0 record, Tulsa clinched the lone Missouri Valley Conference postseason berth due to the head-to-head tie-breaker. Both teams finished conference play 7–1–0. Modern era Following the historic 1981 season, the Bulldogs suffered five straight non-winning seasons. In 1986, the school chose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players. It was unclear if Drake football would survive until Des Moines, Iowa native Rob Ash was introduced as coach in 1989. Ash rejuvenated the program during his eighteen seasons at Drake and played a crucial role in the founding of the Pioneer Football League, a football-only league run out of the Missouri Valley Conference offices in St. Louis, Missouri. In the process, he became Drake's all-time winningest coach with a record of 125–63–2; leading the Bulldogs to