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A Titan on the field and in the classroom

Tex Rollins retired after more than three decades at Carl Albert High School. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)

Longtime Carl Albert educator and coach retires

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Success is no stranger to Carl Albert High School.

Its students excel year after year in academics, athletics, fine arts, and other areas.

But it is no accident.

Dedicated teachers and coaches help students achieve their goals with guidance and support.

For more than three decades, Jackie “Tex” Rollins has proudly carried that role. He helped the Titans win 11 football state titles along with three in track. In the classroom, he’s inspired countless students with lessons about history and life.

After more than three decades, Rollins retired from his beloved Carl Albert this spring.

“During 30 something years, you develop a lot of relationships at this school,” Rollins said. “There have been a lot of fine people that have come through here that aren’t here anymore. And there are a lot of students here that I coached and taught their parents.”

Carl Albert principal Kristin Goggans says Rollins is so much more than a teacher.

“He is consistently looking out for every student, teacher, administrator, and staff member. He has always and will always be a mentor and role model to the Titan Family. Coach Rollins plays a part in so many people’s favorite memories at CAHS. We will miss him so much,” she said.

As a coach, Rollins said his most fond memories included winning state championships in football and track.

“Our kids expect to win, and it’s just ingrained in them,” Rollins said. “We have a chance to win in every sport we have because it’s that same mentality.”

Rollins helped foster that winning mentality with his tough love.

J.D. Runnels, a Carl Albert alum who went onto play football at OU and the NFL, said the lessons he learned from Rollins helped him be a better athlete and man.

“He had the ability to make you want to impress him,” Runnels said. “The best players wanted to play for him and wanted to make him proud. But they knew he’d make them run and do pushups. It was kind of a double-edged sword.”

In the classroom, Rollins takes pride in the school’s annual World’s Fair, which he has led for several years. Sophomore world history students research their assigned countries and set up booths, prepare native foods and share artifacts or customs based on their research.

Dr. Silvya Kirk brought the idea over from a previous school she worked at in Florida. She worked with Rollins and the late Malcolm Wade to start the project.

“As I moved into different positions within the district, Coach Rollins, Wayne Dozier and the late Kathy Pafford kept the World’s Fair going,” she said. “As different ones left and retired, Coach Rollins became the anchor for this event and was an integral part from its inception until his retirement.  He has done us proud.”

Rollins grew up in Terrell, Texas about 35 miles east of Dallas. He was a standout athlete in high school but had no plans after graduation.

A teacher and the wife of Rollins’ high school football coach helped him find the next chapter of his life. The couple arranged for Rollins to attend East Central University in Ada.

“She said you’re not going to hang out on the block and end up getting killed or going to jail,” Rollins said.

Rollins played football at East Central. He and another Black player named Jimmy Scales, who was his roommate, broke the color barrier at the school. Rollins was a standout defensive end for the Tigers and also ran track and played basketball for one year.

“I’ll say this for Ada. I never heard a racial comment the whole time I was at East Central,” Rollins said. “I can’t say for sure that there weren’t some, but I never heard them.”

In 1967, he was preparing for student teaching when he received a draft notice in the mail. He went on to serve a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division.

He returned to Ada to finish his education at East Central. After earning a bachelor’s in education, Rollins started his career at Byng where he also was an assistant basketball coach.

Rollins stayed in Byng for five years. He said he was fired because the school superintendent did not agree with him working part-time as a bartender.

Rollins also joined the Oklahoma National Guard after returning from Vietnam and served for 28 years. His National Guard service included being sent to McAlester in 1973 to quell a riot at the Oklahoma State Prison. After serving in Vietnam, Rollins said he was not intimidated by the call.

“I had been in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, so I was past being afraid of getting killed,” Rollins said.

Rollins later moved to Oklahoma City and was working as a substitute teacher when he received a call from Rick Bachman offering him a job at Carl Albert High School. He started teaching and coaching in 1988.

“Sometimes getting fired is not the worst thing in the world to happen to you,” Rollins said. “If I was still at Byng when Rick Bachman asked me to come up here, I probably would’ve just stayed there. But I was substitute teaching when he called, and I said sure.”

That decision stuck.

Carl Albert became Rollins’ home for more than three decades. He said that time wouldn’t have been possible without the support of his wife Anna B. Heidebrecht and their three children.

“Without an understanding wife, I couldn’t have a very good career coaching because there’s going to be turmoil at the house,” he said. “Coaching football at Carl Albert, you go seven days a week from August until December.”

In addition to coaching and teaching, Rollins officiated basketball and football at the high school and college level. That included working as women’s basketball official in the Big 8 Conference.

Rollins has also been involved with the Oklahoma Coaches Association All State Games since 1972. He was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame in 2000.

The past year of teaching was a huge challenge. Rollins said he never had any doubts about coming back during the pandemic but said challenges with new software and connecting with students through remote learning were difficult.

While Rollins says he has no plans to teach in the fall, he hopes to continue coaching as a volunteer.

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18 Comments

  1. Tim H on July 8, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    You didn’t know Coach Rollins if he never made you do push-up position in the hallway between classes. Also, running hills after practice if you messed up in classes or calling him Tex were the quickest ways to have a bday day. Lol.

  2. Kylie Everheart on July 8, 2021 at 4:43 pm

    I sure love this man! congratulations on an incredible career. Not only are you a champion in every aspect, but you are the definition of what a man should be. You are the model all the young men and women at Carl Albert have been so privileged to learn from and watch. The upcoming students don’t know what they’re losing. I am so indebted to you for all the lessons along the way and I can’t wait to see what retirement holds for you!
    JD couldn’t have said it better… this is a man you want to impress because his standards are set higher than anyone else’s in the room. If you achieve that, you achieve greatness.

  3. Nathaniel Shawhan on July 8, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    About time. Dude was a dick.

    • Kionna on July 9, 2021 at 9:58 pm

      Congrats Coach Rollins!!! The memories in his class. You are not the Pope why are you saying bless you 😂😂😂

  4. Karen White Hurst Wallace on July 9, 2021 at 6:20 am

    Congratulations on your retirement! What a great career you have had in providing support to young men and women in the classroom and on the field. I appreciate what you did for Brandon and Kara😊

  5. john martin on July 9, 2021 at 10:53 am

    wish I had a nickle for every track meet we have worked together. That will continue, I am sure!! Great man, great friend!!!!!

    John Bill Martin

  6. Kevin R on July 9, 2021 at 11:01 am

    I can still hear his voice! And see him in a sweatshirt and shorts, no matter the weather. A titan in his own right, and truly a Titan for life. Congrats, coach!

    • Craig Wiseman on July 16, 2021 at 8:51 pm

      I’ve known Jackie “Tex” Rollins since my college days. As good a human being & friend as you will ever meet or want to know. Thanks Coach for the countless young people’s lives you’ve impacted in a positive way! Enjoy the next phase of your life.

  7. Marie Jordan on July 9, 2021 at 11:37 am

    Coach Rollins, Thank you for teaching and coaching and being a mentor to so many students! I do not think there is one of them that would ever forget you! You are a great role model to them as to what an individual should be in this country!
    They even learned a lot of History from you too! Thank goodness!. When seeing you at an event in public or on a sporting field, I was always so encouraged as a parent, to see the kids and parents surround you! They just wanted to
    have a little bit of Tex Rollins! You will be missed at Carl Albert! Enjoy your retirement!

    • Peggy Taylor on July 10, 2021 at 1:06 pm

      Always enjoyed the friendship with Coach Rollins- I looked forward to track meets knowing he would always be there to say hello!

  8. Toni Lawson (Goodin) on July 9, 2021 at 12:22 pm

    This is a great article and reflection of how you made a positive impact on so many Titans. Thank you for you service to our country and many years of dedication to our district. Congratulations on your milestone and enjoy your retirement.

    Toni Goodin-Lawson

  9. Rachel Sowter on July 9, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    I can’t explain how much he means to me or how huge of an impact he made on my life. I love you so much and I hope to see you out there again!

  10. Kionna Rucker on July 9, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    Congrats Coach Rollins!!! The memories in his class. You are not the Pope why are you saying bless you 😂😂😂

  11. Claudine Crume (Jackson) on July 9, 2021 at 10:45 pm

    Congrats Coach Rollins! You sure kicked my butt in track, but I was a better runner for it. I don’t think there are many past students that don’t have some story with Coach. I came back to CA to volunteer with girls track in my 20’s and as soon as Coach Rollins entered the field and I heard his voice (can’t ever forget it) I was prepared to run laps if told to 😂. I was shocked he remembered me, and even went to his car and pulled out some files with the roster and events from when I was on the team. I hope you enjoy your retirement and family time, you earned it sir.

  12. Courtney McSwain Matlock on July 10, 2021 at 12:29 am

    Coach Rollins – I came to Carl Albert absolutely depressed from Houston, TX after my parents divorced before my sophomore year of high school in 1998 – and you made the whole deal much more manageable by your larger-than-life presence in the classroom. Thank you for that! I am a teacher now and inspired to engage my students in a meaningful way because of you! I didn’t realize you went to Byng and ECU – I went on to graduate from ECU and my husband was a Byng Pirate! Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger!
    Congratulations on your retirement –
    Courtney (McSwain) Matlock, Class of 2001

  13. Courtney McSwain Matlock on July 10, 2021 at 12:30 am

    Coach Rollins – I came to Carl Albert absolutely depressed from Houston, TX after my parents divorced before my sophomore year of high school in 1998 – and you made the whole deal much more manageable by your larger-than-life presence in the classroom. Thank you for that! I am a teacher now and inspired to engage my students in a meaningful way because of you! I didn’t realize you went to Byng and ECU – I went on to graduate from ECU and my husband was a Byng Pirate! Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger!
    Congratulations on your retirement –
    Courtney (McSwain) Matlock, Class of 2001

  14. Burl White on July 10, 2021 at 6:48 pm

    Tex, I will never forget the 1965-66 East Central years that we both started on defense for Coach O’Neal. You were my best buddy and we had great success on the field.I miss all of you guys and especially you and Byrl Hunt.Good luck in retirement Love ya!!!!

  15. Randle R Hawkins on July 12, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Congratulations Coach. Enjoyed those long days at track meets. Enjoy your retirement hope to see you.soon.

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