Hugh Freeze

Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. (born September 27, 1969) is an American college football coach, having most recently served as the head coach for Auburn University.

Freeze was a successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he coached Michael Oher and Greg Hardy. He served as the head football coach at Lambuth University from 2008 to 2009, Arkansas State University in 2011, the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 2012 to 2016, and Liberty University from 2018 to 2022.

Under Freeze, the Ole Miss football program committed various recruiting and academic violations that figured in the NCAA's decision to expunge 27 of Freeze's wins and ban the team from post-season play for two years. After university officials attempted to paint Freeze's predecessor as the main culprit, they were sued for defamation and they subsequently issued a public apology. The team's star quarterback and other players told NCAA officials that Freeze lied to them about the charges while he recruited them.

Freeze resigned from Ole Miss in 2017 after officials discovered that he had used a university cell phone to call escort services at least a dozen times over 33 months.

Freeze was born in Oxford, Mississippi, and grew up on a dairy farm in Independence, Mississippi. His father, Danny Freeze, is a longtime high school assistant coach. Freeze graduated from Senatobia High School in 1988, then attended Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he lettered two years in junior college baseball. He became an NJCAA Academic All-American for the Rangers in the spring of 1990.

Freeze then attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he tried out for the baseball team in the fall of 1990, hoping to make the roster for the spring of 1991. He was cut from the team. He graduated from Southern Miss in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a minor in coaching and sports administration.

In 1992, Freeze joined the staff at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, as the football team's offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Freeze also served as dean of students. In 1995, he was promoted to head coach. Freeze ran the no-huddle spread offense and led his team to the state championship in 2002 and 2004, and the regional championship each year from 1995 to 1998 and in 2001 and 2002. He received Region 8-AA Coach of the Year honors five times and Associated Press Coach of the Year honors six times. Freeze went 94–30 as head coach (.785 winning percentage) and 126–37 overall. Freeze was depicted in the book and motion picture The Blind Side, about one of his former players, offensive tackle Michael Oher.

From 1992 to 2004, Freeze also coached the Briarcrest girls basketball team to an overall record of 305–63 (.829 winning percentage), seven straight championship appearances, and four championships.