Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Bill Brannau was the Wildcats starting quarterback for the 1951 and 1952 seasons, during which time he led the team to a combined 12-4-1 record under head coach Art Raimo. He played three varsity seasons in all from 1950-52 and graduated from Villanova with a degree in Economics in 1953. Brannau was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1991.
 
At the time of his graduation, Brannau was the Wildcats all-time career leader in passing yards and total offense as well as the school record holder for career pass completions and pass attempts. Nearly 40 years later when he was inducted to the Hall of Fame, he still ranked ninth in school history in passing yards and 14^th in total offense.
 
Brannau was 118-of-305 through the air for 1,674 passing yards and 12 touchdowns during his career. He made his collegiate debut in 1950 as the backup to Neil O’Boyle and had two completions for 28 yards and a touchdown on the year. As a junior in 1951, Brannau threw for 870 yards and six scores while helping lead Villanova to a 5-3 record. The season started with three straight impressive wins over Army West Point on the road (21-7), against Penn State in Allentown (20-14) and in a road game at Alabama (41-18).
 
The 1952 season got off to a good start as Brannau scored on a three-yard rushing touchdown in a 25-6 win at Kentucky. He went on to pass for 776 yards and five touchdowns while completing 51 passes his senior year. As Brannau went, so did the team. Villanova was 7-1-1 in 1952 with its only loss coming on the road to Tulsa. Road wins over Kentucky, Clemson, Boston College and Xavier were highlights along with a 20-0 shutout of Wake Forest at Franklin Field.
 
Brannau had a successful career as a coach and educator following his collegiate playing days. He spent one season on the Wildcats coaching staff in 1959 when he guided the program’s freshman team. When he was hired for that role, it was noted that one of Brannau’s coaching theories was to eliminate warmups prior to the start of games. It was an experiment that proved to be successful during his Villanova coaching stint.
 
Prior to returning to campus Brannau had been the head coach at St. Matthew’s of Conshohcoken where he guided his 1958 team to an Eastern Pennsylvania Catholic Championship after St. Matthew’s had been co-champions in 1957. In 1956, his St. Matthew’s squad led the nation’s high schools with four ties. His teams were 15-10-5 overall during his head coaching tenure.
 
Brannau went on to be a football coach and educator at Father Judge High School and St. John Neumann High School in Philadelphia. He was a two-time Catholic City Championship winner in 1964 at Father Judge and 1983 at St. John Neumann. Brannau also taught at both schools.
 
In his early years Brannau played scholastic football at Southeast Catholic and led his team to the Philadelphia Catholic League title in addition to playing an important role in a 6-6 tie against Frankford for the 1948 city championship. Brannau was named to the Philadelphia All-Catholic and All-Scholastic teams in 1949. He later spent three years as an assistant coach at Southeast Catholic prior to getting the head coaching job at St. Matthew’s. Brannau passed away in 2017 at the age of 86.