South Carolina State Legend Gets His Due

Coach Jeffries reflects on his journey through college football history before Hall of Fame induction.

Willie Jeffries, his wife, Mary, and two of his children have a road trip on tap this week to South Bend, Indiana. It’s not a pilgrimage to Notre Dame. No, Jeffries is going to take his appointed place in the College Football Hall of Fame. The 2010 Enshrinement Festival runs Saturday and Sunday.

“It is quite an honor for me,” said Jeffries, whose 29-year college coaching career netted a 179-132-6 record, including a 128-77-4 mark in 19 seasons during twostints at South Carolina State, his alma mater.

“Being inducted into the college football hall of fame is the apex of my profession. In all my years of coaching, I never thought about any halls of fame, especially this one. There is no greater honor for a coach.”

Jeffries is a beloved South Carolinian — a man whose influence reaches beyond the field. In addition to being a member of several athletic halls of fame (South Carolina State, South Carolina, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Wichita, Kansas, to name a few), he is the recipient of two of the highest civilian honors in the state — the Order of the Silver Crescent for outstanding community service, and the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian award.



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2010 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEE BIO

WILLIE JEFFRIES - Howard University, Wichita State University, South Carolina State University Head Coach Emeritus - 179-132-6.


The first African-American to be hired as a head coach at a Division-I school (Wichita State), Willie Jeffries finished his career as the winningest coach in South Carolina State and MEAC history.

A three-time Black National Championship winner, Jeffries is credited with inventing the "Freeze Option" offense and is the only person in history to coach against College Football Hall of Famers Paul "Bear" Bryant and Eddie Robinson. Jeffries won the MEAC conference title seven times, six with SCSU and one with Howard. He has also coached College Football Hall of Famers Harry Carson and Donnie Shell.

Named coach of the year on eight different occasions, he was given the lifetime achievement award by the Black Coaches Association in 2002. An inductee of both the MEAC Hall of Fame and SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame, Jeffries was awarded the Order of the Silver Crescent in 2001, South Carolina's highest honor for Outstanding Community Service.

Jeffries was recently named head coach emeritus at South Carolina State and will serve as a liaison between the university, its alumni and other constituents. He currently resides in Elloree, S.C.

LINK: http://www.collegefootball.org/

SCSU's Jeffries earns 'top' honor

South Carolina State University Bulldogs Coach Emeritus Willie Jeffries will be inducted into College Football Hall of Fame. Coach Jeffries had a career record of 179-132-6 and was the first black coach of a Division I school, Wichita State in 1979. The induction ceremony is July 16-17 in South Bend, Indiana at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Willie Jeffries spent a lifetime knocking down doors in the world of college football. Tuesday, the doors of the College Football Hall of Fame opened for him.
The former S.C. State football coach was named one of six new members of the 2010 Division Hall of Fame by the National Football Foundation. The Division Hall honors players and coaches from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and NAIA. Jeffries, who had two stints at S.C. State during a coaching career in which he won 179 games at four schools from 1973 to 2001, was thrilled by the news.

"This is an honor for me, my former players, South Carolina State and all the schools I've coached," he said. "This is about the top one a coach can receive." Jeffries won the most games in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference history, captured three historically black college national titles and was the first African-American head coach at an FBS school when Wichita State hired him in 1979. Jeffries, the only person to coach against both Bear Bryant and Eddie Robinson, recognized at the time that he was a pioneer.

"Once I got there (to Wichita), after about a week or two, I said, 'Oh, my goodness, I am a trailblazer.' There was a lot of weight on my shoulders," he said. "But I found out as I went across Kansas that people are people, and they will treat you well according to how you present yourself."

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