Memories blanket the walls in Carlton Flatt’s (’65) office with photographs from some of the nine state championships he has garnered over the years as head football coach at Brentwood Academy, located just south of Nashville in Williamson County.

Positioned next to his desk, a large glass picture frame displays a team jersey – Flatt’s name in capital letters, and a tall, red No. 1 printed underneath – signed by members of his 2004 football team. It was given to the former Austin Peay State University football captain shortly after the Brentwood Eagles won its 333rd game – making Flatt the all-time winningest high school football coach in Tennessee.

The encased jersey remains propped on the floor against the wall. Flatt has a bittersweet fondness for the shirt. “I remember the pressure the team felt,” says Flatt, quietly recalling the attention sports enthusiasts and news headlines placed on every game until the state record was broken Oct. 15, 2004, with a 42-6 victory home game over Lone Oak, Ky. “I was glad when it was over.” Brentwood Academy’s football program is recognized as one of the premier programs in the South. It’s a football powerhouse built from scratch in 1970 by Flatt. At least some of the football success the private school in Brentwood has enjoyed can be traced back to lessons Flatt learned as a player at Austin Peay.

Raw talent
In the early 1960s, college was not an option for everyone. It took money, and a student either had to be able to afford it or earn a scholarship. Flatt, a quarterback standout at Cumberland High School in Nashville, worked hard to excel in the classroom and had a real fondness for math. But there was something about the young star that attracted APSU football coach Dr. George Fisher. “Coach Fisher saw something in me no one else saw,” Flatt says. “I guess that’s why he recruited me and offered me a scholarship.

Football was a vehicle for me to get my education. I had to go.” At APSU, Flatt adhered to a strict schedule. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., he attended class or studied. After 3, he was in athletic training until 6 p.m., and from 6:30 to 10 p.m., he was back to the books and study hall. In a sense, Flatt was a rarity. He describes his passion for football, math and physics as a “dual appreciation.” “For a football player, it was pretty unique then to play this sport and have an interest in math and physics,” he says. “I had friends in both areas. That was neat for me, and I think it was neat for them, too. Not that many people had that kind of mix.”

Space or football
The year was 1964, and it provided significant moments for Flatt. He was named All Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Quarterback and OVC Player of the Year. Balancing his athletic abilities, Flatt earned the Highest Mathematics Award at APSU and a spot on the Who’s Who college list. He also was voted Mr. Austin Peay State University. His greatest achievement, though, was graduating with a bachelor’s degree in both mathematics and physics. “I’m proud of the fact that I went to Austin Peay. It gave me opportunities that no other place could offer,” he says humbly.

Following his undergraduate studies, Flatt enrolled as a graduate student at Tennessee Tech University. There, he worked as a graduate assistant in the math department where he taught calculus and coached quarterbacks until 1967 when he received a Master of Science in Mathematics. Then Flatt was confronted with an important decision, and he knew whichever one he chose would be his destiny: space or football. He was offered a promising career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Huntsville, Ala.

At the same time, he was asked to teach calculus full time as an instructor in Tennessee Tech’s math department while continuing his coaching duties with the team’s quarterbacks. “The Monday before Thanksgiving, I had to let NASA know what I was going to do,” Flatt says. “I told them I had decided I was going to stay at Tennessee Tech.” But a 17-14 loss against Middle Tennessee State University resulted in the dismissal of the school’s head coach, leaving Flatt to ponder whether he made the right decision.

He again called NASA asking for a reconsideration of the job offer. “They told me the job had been offered to the next person on their list, and that that person had accepted,” Flatt says. Flatt stayed at Tennessee Tech. “It’s an interesting story really,” he says. “But over that one decision, everything would have changed had I chosen at first to go to NASA. “I do not regret not taking the NASA job.”

Football today
Living directly behind Brentwood Academy, Flatt pulls double duty as the school’s athletic director and head football coach. He still holds the distinction as the state’s top football coach with 343 wins. Brentwood and football are practically synonymous. In the 1990s, Sports Scholastic America ranked Brentwood Academy as the fifth best high school football program in the nation. During the same era, the team was voted third best in the country by the National Prep Poll.

In his 35-year career, Flatt has sent 10 players to the University of Tennessee Volunteers, including a couple who started in the NFL; coached six All-Americans; and had 70 players to sign college scholarships. “You didn’t need to have ties to Brentwood Academy or even follow football closely to know of Flatt. His reputation preceded everything else,” a sports editorial from the Oct. 5, 2004, edition of The Tennessean stated about Flatt.

Coaching top-notch athletic talent, however, is not Flatt’s complete legacy. Flatt never thought he would be a math teacher, but there’s more to life than football. And that’s what he wants his players to remember. “I feel I have a real story,” he says. “If you work hard and study hard, you’ll have more to offer. I would love to see all my players receive the kind of college education I did at Austin Peay.”