Willie Jeffries
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
January 4, 1937 Union, South Carolina |
| Playing career | |
| c. 1959 | South Carolina State |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1968–1971 | North Carolina A&T (DL) |
| 1972 | Pittsburgh (assistant) |
| 1973–1978 | South Carolina State |
| 1979–1983 | Wichita State |
| 1984–1988 | Howard |
| 1989–2001 | South Carolina State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 180–132–6 (college) |
| Bowls | 3–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 Black college national (1976–1977, 1994) 7 MEAC (1974–1978, 1987, 1994) |
|
|
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2010 (profile) |
|
Willie E. Jeffries, (born January 4, 1937) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University for 19 seasons in two stints (1973–1978, 1989–2001), five seasons at Wichita State University (1979–1983), and five seasons at Howard University (1984–1988). Jeffries was the first African American head coach of a NCAA Division I-A football program at a predominantly white college when he coached Wichita State. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jeffries grew up in South Carolina where he attended segregated school. He started his coaching career in 1960 as an assistant at Barr Street High School in Lancaster, South Carolina. He was given his first head coaching job in Gaffney, South Carolina where he went 64–8–2 in seven seasons.
Jeffries's record during his two stints with the South Carolina State Bulldogs football team (1973 to 1978 and 1989 to 2001) includes three black college football national championships (1976, 1977,and 1994), seven Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships, several post-season appearances, and numerous coaching awards. Players that Jeffries coached at South Carolina State include College Football Hall of Famers Harry Carson and Donnie Shell as well as Robert Porcher, Orlando Brown, Chartric Darby, Dextor Clinkscale, and Anthony Cook.
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