Dee Andros

Demosthenes Konstandies "Dee" Andrecopoulos (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho from 1962 to 1964 and at Oregon State University from 1965 to 1975, compiling career college football record of 62–80–2. A native of Oklahoma and a World War II veteran, Andros played college football as a guard at the University of Oklahoma. After retiring from coaching, he was the athletic director at Oregon State from 1976 to 1985.

Early life, military service, and playing career
Andros, born Demosthenes Konstandies Andrikoupolos in Oklahoma City, was the second of three sons of Greek immigrants. He received his high school education at Oklahoma City's Central High School, and then enlisted in the military in 1942. Andros was a veteran of World War II where he served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. A cook, he picked up a rifle and was awarded the Bronze Star and spent more than a month under heavy fire on the island of Iwo Jima. He was present at the famed moment when six soldiers raised the American flag on Iwo Jima.

Andros played college football at Oklahoma from 1946 to 1949, under hall of fame head coach Bud Wilkinson. He was selected in the 14th round (177th overall) by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1950 NFL Draft. Dee's older brother Plato (1921-2008) was an All-American in 1946 at Oklahoma and played four years in the NFL for the Cardinals. His younger brother Gus (Dick) (1926-2009) was a ballet dancer and choreographer.

Coaching career
Andros' coaching career included stops as an assistant at Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech, Nebraska, California and Illinois. While Dee was serving as an assistant, Texas Tech went to the Sun Bowl and California went to the Rose Bowl in 1959.

Idaho
Andros became a head coach at age 37 at Idaho in February 1962. He took over for Skip Stahley, who remained as athletic director. Andros' starting annual salary was just under $12,500. The 1962 team was 2-6-1, but the following year he led Idaho to its first winning season in a quarter century.

The Vandals won their opener in 1964, but then lost four straight, the latter two were close ones to Oregon and Oregon State. The 10-7 loss to the Rose Bowl-bound Beavers in Corvallis came by a late third quarter OSU punt return. The Vandals rebounded and the next week won the Battle of the Palouse for the first time in a decade, defeating neighbor Washington State 28-13. The Vandals split the final four games to finish at 4-6.

While Idaho had joined the Big Sky Conference as a charter member in 1963, the Vandals essentially remained an independent for football through 1964 under Andros. Only one conference foe was played during the first two Big Sky seasons, a 1963 game with Idaho State that was previously scheduled.

Andros spent three years on the Palouse at Idaho, with an overall record of 11-16-1 (.411).

Oregon State
Andros was hired as the head coach at Oregon State in February 1965. He replaced the legendary Tommy Prothro, who had left for UCLA just days after leading the Beavers in the 1965 Rose Bowl. Andros compiled a 51–64–1 record (.444) in his 11 seasons at Oregon State. In the Civil War games against the Oregon Ducks, he won his first seven and split the last four, for an overall record of 9–2 (.818). Andros was nicknamed "The Great Pumpkin" for his bright orange jacket and large physical size, first dubbed by a member of the Spokane press (during the rout of WSU in (in Pullman on Halloween in 1966).

1967
Andros is best known for his incredible 1967 season in which his team, dubbed the "Giant Killers", went 7–2–1. That season, the Beavers, led by quarterback Steve Preece, beat #2 Purdue, tied the new #2 UCLA, and then beat #1 USC. But because Oregon State lost to Washington and tied UCLA, USC won the conference title by a half game and earned the berth to the Rose Bowl, where they defeated the Big Ten Conference's Indiana Hoosiers, 14–3, and won the national title. Oregon State finished with a #7 ranking in the AP Poll, but did not participate in a bowl game as the AAWU (Pac-8) allowed only the conference champion to do so. In 1968, the Beavers were ranked #6 in the pre-season and finishing #15 after a 7–3 campaign. They did not compete in a bowl game, as conference rules prohibited teams from going to any bowl other than the Rose Bowl until 1975. Andros expressed an interest in the position at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in December 1968, and several weeks later, rejected an offer from the University of Pittsburgh.

Later life and family
After stepping down as head coach following the 1975 season, Andros was named athletic director, succeeding Jim Barratt. Andros served in this capacity until the spring of 1985, when he retired. Though retired, Andros continued to serve as a special assistant within the Beaver Athletic Scholarship Fund until health problems forced him to remain at his Corvallis home. He spent nearly 40 years of his life involved with Oregon State athletics.

Though he spent only three years at Idaho, he was still held in high regard in Moscow. In 1989, Andros was invited by first-year head coach John L. Smith to coach one of the sides in the annual Silver & Gold spring game, opposite former 1970s head coach Ed Troxel.

In 1992, his "Giant Killers" team of 1967 was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. In the spring of 2003, Andros was awarded the Martin Chaves Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fifth Annual Bennys celebration at Oregon State. Andros married Luella Andros, and they had one daughter named Jeanna. He died in Corvallis on October 22, 2003 at the age of 79.