Hometown Heroes: Ocala native Eason acting interim FAMU AD

Dr. John Eason

OCALA, Florida -- Last month, Florida A&M needed a leadership change inside its athletic department after former athletic director Milton Overton accepted a job at Kennesaw State University. FAMU needed someone with experience and familiarity with the school itself to run the athletic department in the interim while the brass looked for a new full-time AD.

That person was none other than Dr. John Eason, 72, a 1963 graduate from Howard High School in Ocala.

After graduating from Howard, Eason played football and earned both his bachelors and masters degrees from FAMU. He earned his doctorate from FSU. Additionally, Eason was inducted into the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.

While the FAMU connections are great, the Rattlers brass still needed someone with plenty of experience in the college athletics world, as well as someone who would be able to oversee the university’s search for a new head football coach.

And again, they felt Eason was the best choice.

After a few years playing in both the NFL and CFL, Eason spent 12 seasons at Florida State as the receivers coach and then four years at South Carolina as offensive coordinator. In 2001, he went to Georgia with head coach Mark Richt to serve as receivers coach and assistant head coach. He would serve in that role at UGA until 2009, when he was named director of football operations with the Bulldogs.

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