AUSTIN, Texas -- Darrell K Royal, the former Texas football coach known as much for his folksy, simplistic approach to life as for his creative wishbone offenses and two outright national championships, has died. He was 88.

University of Texas spokesman Nick Voinis on Wednesday confirmed Royal's death. Royal had suffered from Alzheimer's disease and recently fell at an assisted living center where he was receiving care.

Royal took over as head coach at Texas at age 32 in 1956 after starring as a halfback for Oklahoma and then taking head coaching jobs at Mississippi State and Washington.

In 23 years as a head coach, he never had a losing season, with his teams boasting a 167-47-5 record in his 20 years at Texas, the best record in the nation over that period (1957-76).

Royal won 11 Southwest Conference titles, 10 Cotton Bowl championships and national championships in 1963 and 1969, going 11-0 each time. Texas also won a share of the national title in 1970 when it was awarded the UPI (coaches) national championship before losing to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. The UPI awarded its title before bowl games were played. Nebraska won the AP national title that year.

The national title season in 1969 included what was dubbed the "Game of the Century," a come-from-behind 15-14 victory by the top-ranked Longhorns over No. 2 Arkansas in the final game of the regular season.

Former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes was an assistant on Royal's staff for five years.

"He didn't claim to invent football but I don't know anybody who coached it any better," Dykes said of Royal. "There are a lot of good things and bad things that can happen in your life. One of the best things that happened in my life was that I was able to work beside Coach Royal for five years."

Royal was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

Always a proponent of a strong running game, Royal is often quoted as saying: "Three things can happen when you pass and two of 'em are bad."

Darrell Royal installed the wishbone in 1968 and Texas went on to win 30 straight games and six consecutive SWC titles. He won two national titles with the Longhorns (1963 and '69). Getty Images

Asked later in his coaching career if he might switch to a passing attack, Royal said, you've got to "dance with the one who brung ya."

In 1968, Royal installed the wishbone, with the fullback lined up 2 yards behind the quarterback and a step up in front of the other two backs. With that formation, Royal's teams won 30 straight games and a record six straight SWC championships.

Royal's teams won more SWC games (109) and more overall games (167) in 20 years at Texas than those of any coach in league history.

He also served as Texas athletic director from 1962-79 before becoming a special assistant for athletic programs to the UT president. In that capacity, he was influential in the hiring of Mack Brown as football coach in 1997.

"Today is a very sad day," Brown said in a statement. "I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero. College football lost maybe its best ever and the world lost a great man. I can hardly put in words how much Coach Royal means to me and all that he has done for me and my family. I wouldn't even be at Texas without Coach. His counsel and friendship meant a lot to me before I came to Texas, but it's been my guiding light for my 15 years here."

Texas honored Royal in 1996 by renaming Texas' football stadium Darrell K Royal-Memorial Stadium.

In announcing the name change, UT System chancellor William Cunningham said, "No individual has contributed more to athletics at UT-Austin than Darrell Royal. He is a living legend."

Royal was close friends with former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who attended Texas football games once his presidency ended.

"I'm not a football fan," Johnson said. "But I am a fan of people, and I am a Darrell Royal fan because he is the rarest of human beings."