John Clinton Futrall (1873-1939) was born in Tennessee and his family moved to Marianna, Ark., when he was 10 years old. He came to Fayetteville to study at the University of Arkansas, then transferred to the University of Virginia and later studied at the universities in Bonne and Halle, Germany.
He returned to Fayetteville to teach Latin in 1894. He helped formed the university’s first football team and was its first coach. He became president of the university in 1914 and served in that capacity until his death in 1939. Memorial Hall, the student union then just being finished on the campus, was named in memory of him.
“Annie” Futrall was born in Fayetteville. She was one of the first two women to serve on the university’s board of trustees. Futrall Hall on the university campus was named in her honor.