VUL to field first football team since 1954 this fall

A.D./Coach Willard Bailey
VUL Dragons

Lynchburg, VA - Virginia University of Lynchburg plans to launch a football program this fall, more than a half-century after disbanding the team in 1954. The team will begin practice on Aug. 1 and play its first game against North Carolina A&T State University on Sept. 3.

The revival of the football program is part of a large-scale effort to bring back sports to Lynchburg’s only historically black college. This year, VUL will launch a total of 13 men’s and women’s sports teams.

“The time is ripe to bring it back,” said Willard Bailey, head football coach and director of athletics at VUL. “Not just football but the entire arena of intercollegiate athletics … Our students are calling for more than a library, a good meal and a classroom.”

VUL president Ralph Reavis spearheaded the effort to revive the sports program in response to demand from students, alumni and community members, Bailey said. The move coincides with an enrollment surge and the addition of a new dormitory on campus. The college expects an enrollment of more than 800 students this fall, up from about 550 last year.

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Bailey in charge at Saint Paul's

Saint Paul's College football coach Willard Bailey has returned to active duty, apparently for one final season, following a summer health incident that created the widespread impression that Bailey and the school had parted company.

Bailey, the winningest football coach in CIAA history, said the incident, about which he declined to elaborate, startled him so thoroughly that he "dropped everything" to seek medical evaluation. During this period, he handed the reins of the program to defensive coordinator Kevin Grisby and offensive coordinator Hubie Bryant.

"I wanted to make sure that if I didn't come back, the program would be in great shape," he said. But tests performed in July at Norfolk's Sentara Hospital, Bailey said, exposed the scare as "just a false alarm."

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NEXT GAME: University of North Carolina - Pembroke at Saint Paul's College, September 11, 1:00 p.m.

Saint Paul's College Coach Bailey takes break

The legendary Coach Willard Bailey is show in a 2007 photo with Saint Paul's star player Craig Mangrum.






CIAA’s ‘winningest’ football mentor faces health challenges.

Coach Willard Bailey was hired to resurrect the Saint Paul’s College football program. Now, with that mission accomplished, the coach at the top of the CIAA’s all-time win list is taking a break to focus on his own health.

"I promised my family and the Lord that I would be the perfect patient," he told the Free Press, via cell phone, while undergoing tests last Thursday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

“I have to get straight before I get back and get involved anywhere.”

The 71-year-old Suffolk native did not go into details about his medical condition, but noted “I don’t want anyone to panic - let’s just leave it there.” On Tuesday, he told the Free Press he’s still the head coach and that he expects to return to his active role as coach.



In response to a question, he said he has a contract as head coach fro the upcoming football season. Bailey’s replacement, former defensive coordinator Kevin Grisby, will carry the “interim” tag this season. The Tigers are to begin practice Aug. 4 in preparation for the Aug. 28 season opener at West Virginia Wesleyan.

Grisby, a former Bethune-Cookman standout who had a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles, has served under Bailey at Saint Paul’s and Virginia Union. “I still consider coach Bailey our coach,” Grisby said at the CIAA Kickoff Luncheon last Thursday at Virginia State. “Whenever something comes up, I’d like to think that he’s only a call away.”

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Grisby replaces Bailey as football coach at Saint Paul's College

ETTRICK, VA - The CIAA said hello to a new college football season by saying goodbye -- well, in a manner of speaking -- to iconic coach Willard Bailey.

Saint Paul's College, Bailey's employer since 2005, yesterday introduced Kevin Grisby as its interim head coach. Rumors that Bailey and Saint Paul's have parted company have been percolating for three weeks. They were confirmed at the CIAA's preseason kickoff luncheon at Virginia State when Grisby, Bailey's defensive coordinator, was introduced as the Tigers' boss for 2010. Saint Paul's does not have a sports information director, and its athletic department website still lists Bailey, 71, as the Tigers' coach.

Bailey, 228-142-7 in 36 seasons at four schools, is the winningest football coach in CIAA history.

"The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for all of us -- players, coaches, all of us," Grisby said. "All I know is, I'm excited to have the chance to lead the Tigers into 2010. I think the players are feeling the same kind of enthusiasm. I can tell you this: We'll be ready [when Saint Paul's opens against West Virginia Wesleyan] on Aug. 28."

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SAINT PAUL'S COLLEGE 2010 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Location Time
August 28, 2010 West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, WVA 1:00 pm
September 4, 2010 Bye
September 11, 2010 UNC Pembroke Lawrenceville, VA 1:00 pm
September 18, 2010 Saint Augustine's College Raleigh, NC 1:00 pm
September 25, 2010 Livingstone College Lawrenceville, VA 1:00 pm
October 2, 2010 Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC 1:00 pm
October 9, 2010 Bowie State University Roanoke, VA 1:00 pm
October 16, 2010 Chowan University HOMECOMING Lawrenceville, VA 1:00 pm
October 23, 2010 Virginia Union University Richmond, VA 1:00 pm
October 30, 2010 Lincoln University Lincoln University, PA 1:00 pm
November 6, 2010 Virginia State University Lawrenceville, VA 1:00 pm

Games in Bold are Home Games - Times And Locations Subject To Change