Everyone was a good friend to Brison Manor

Brison Manor was a friend, but that was not exclusive company.

Everyone who met him thought they were his best friend because he made them feel that way.

Brison was outgoing, friendly and had a deep real laugh. His love for family, life and football were unequaled.

He was totally opposite on the football field.

At 6-5, 250 pounds, he was big for a defensive lineman when Arkansas recruited the New Jersey native at Pratt (Kan.) Junior College, where Kansas State thought they had him hidden away.

Within a week of stepping foot on campus, Brison — who was faster and quicker than Frank Broyles and his staff realized — was listed as a starter for two years and totaled 173 tackles.

In the NFL Draft, he was selected by the New York Jets, was cut and decided to make his home in Little Rock, where he got a job selling cars until the Denver Broncos called.

He became part of the legendary “Orange Crush” defense that held opponents to 10.6 points per game and was a defensive end who was counted on heavily for seven years until being traded to Tampa Bay, where he played four games and returned to Denver for his final five before retiring.

Brison became an investment banker and his zest for life and all things Arkansas were obvious.

One year a movie was being made in Little Rock and the directors needed a large man to be dragged behind a car. Brison was called and asked if he knew of anyone willing to do such a dangerous stunt. “Yes,” he said. “Me.” And he did.

In 2018, Brison was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, which his wife Delores called Wednesday morning and said after a courageous battle with cancer he had died.

Brison Manor was 70 years old and left behind legions of friends.

Brison Manor was a regular at attending the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame golf tournament, always listed as a celebrity but refused to be introduced that way.

The golf tournament is fun, sun, friends and family reunion and will be played this Monday at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.

Only a few team spots are left and more information can be obtained from ASHOF Executive Director Terri Johnson at (501) 313-4158.

The tournament is presented by Fence Brokers and begins at 7:30 a.m. with a breakfast and a shotgun start for the morning flight at 8:30 a.m.

After lunch. the afternoon flight tees off at 1:30.

The ASHOF golf tournament is probably the most heavily-laden with prizes in the state, and usually a great time is had by all.

Another old friend, Bill Hancock, has announced his retirement as executive director of the College Football Playoffs effective Feb. 1, 2024.

Hancock was the first executive director when the position was created in 2012 and he was a one-man crew until he could build a staff and negotiate TV contracts for the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame.

A longtime employee of the NCAA, Hancock was also the first executive director of the NCAA Final Four and later the Bowl Championship Series.

On a personal note, he made news after his son Will was killed in the 2001 plane crash carrying Oklahoma State basketball players and staff personnel.

In an effort to fight his depression, Hancock rode a bicycle from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and chronicled the whole thing in a diary that was published as the book “Riding with the Blue Moth.”

His wife Nicki would drive ahead and set up a pop-up camper every night of the journey.

Hancock, 72, will have worked in college athletics for 53 years.