In the interim, he had also served as the university's athletic director and head coach for the football and baseball teams. Byrd amassed a 119–82–15 record in football from 1911 to 1934 and 88–73–4 record in baseball from 1913 to 1923. Byrd Stadium, the university's current football field, and its predecessor were both named in his honor. In graduate school at Georgetown University, he became one of football's early users of the newly legalized forward pass, and he had a brief baseball career including one season as pitcher for the San Francisco Seals.