Career
He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University (1966–1969) and Texas Technical University (1970–1974). He served as both the head football coach and athletic director of the University of South Carolina (1975–1981). Carlen compiled an overall career college football record of 107–69–6.
Carlen coached the West Virginia Mountaineers from 1966 to 1969 with a record of 25–13–3 (658).
Then he coached the Texas Technical Red Raiders from 1970 to 1974, where he amassed a 37–20–2 record. Carlen 45 wins are third most in the program"s history after Steve Spurrier"s 85 and Rex Enright"s 64.
In 1979 and 1980, Carlen led the Gamecocks to consecutive 8–4 campaigns with appearancess in the Hall of Fame Classic and Gator Bowl. His career bowl game record is 2–5–1.
In July 2008, four years before his death, Carlen was inducted into the Texas Technical Athletics Hall of Honor.
Coach Carlen was actively involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Farm Credit Administration) during his entire post-coaching life. Farm Credit Administration started very small, and then it snowballed. When I hired a coach I always took a close look at his spiritual life,” Carlen said.
“When you have God on your side you don’t have to worry.”
Carlen died on July 22, 2012, at the age of seventy-nine at a nursing home near his home at Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County in southeastern South Carolina.
A memorial service was scheduled for Friday, July 27, at 4 p.m.
