Fayetteville State's winningest football coach, Kenny Phillips, dies of cancer

COACH KENNY PHILLIPS

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- Kenny Phillips, who led Fayetteville State to its greatest successes in football as head coach from 2000 to 2012, has passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer, according to friends.

Former FSU assistant football coach and the school's current director of intramurals Tim Heath said Phillips had recently been admitted to Hospice care and died about 1 p.m. Friday.

"I received a text from (former FSU offensive coordinator) Coach (John) Eder about 2 and he said Kenny passed about an hour earlier,'' Heath said Friday evening. "It was a real shock. On top of that, it's homecoming weekend (at FSU) and a lot of his (Phillips) former players are in town.

"Kenny was a real family man who loved his wife, his two beautiful daughters and his grandson. And he loved football.''

Phillips, a former linebacker at East Carolina, arrived at FSU in 2000 as the Broncos were coming off a 1-10 finish. His first Fayetteville State team went 3-7, but the Broncos would compile a 38-18 record over the next five years while winning the first of three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships under Phillips in 2002.

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