Background
Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio.
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Ron Calcagni
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Rein would return to North Carolina State as head coach before Calcagni graduated from Arkansas.
Career
An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rein to play for North Carolina State University. However, Rein left North Carolina State to coach under Frank Broyles at Arkansas and convinced Calcagni to follow him there. 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 in the 1978 Orange Bowl. Following that upset victory Calcagni and head coach Lou Holtz were on the September 11th, 1978 cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine.
He also helped the Razorbacks to a 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic victory over the University of Georgia and a Fiesta Bowl tie with University of California, Los Los Angeles
During his time at Arkansas Calcagni played alongside Chicago Bears great Dan Hampton, running back Ben Cowins and record setting kicker Steve Little. 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.
Despite his success in college Calcagni was not drafted into the NFL. He played three seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes and the Ottawa Rough Riders 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. Calcagni worked as inside receivers coach for the University of Houston from 1987 to 1991. He has also served as the President of Marketing for Arkansas Sports Entertainment.
