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Football Trailblazer to Coach Final Game SaturdayNovember 22, 2001 Orangeburg, SC - Willie Jeffries, who made history in 1979 when he became the first African-American head football coach at a Division I school - Wichita State - will coach has final game Saturday when South Carolina State hosts Norfolk State in a game postponed from Sept. 15 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
Jeffries, on Saturday, winds up a 19-year career, covering two stints (1973-78 and 1989-2001), at S.C. State. His 29-year collegiate coaching career also includes five-year stints at Wichita State and Howard (DC). His current team is 5-5 and a victory over Norfolk State Saturday would give the retiring Jeffries a winning season, his first since 1997 when the Bulldogs started 5-0 and went on to a 9-3 season and a berth in the now-defunct Heritage Bowl, played in Atlanta. Jeffries blazed a trail in college football in 1979 when, after six seasons, a 50-13-4 record and five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) titles at S.C. State - his alma mater - he accepted the head coaching position at Wichita State, becoming the first African-American head coach at a predominantly-white, Division I institution. His five-year stay at Wichita State included a 8-3 record in 1982, including, a win over Kansas and coaching against Alabama's Bear Bryant. He resigned as Shocker coach after the 1983 season and was later named head coach at Howard, where he led the Bison from perennial doormats in the MEAC to league champions in 1987. He returned to S.C. State as head coach in 1989. Jeffries announced prior to the start of the 2001 season that this would be his last year on the sidelines. The Bulldogs, who won their season opener 21-7 against Morris Brown before losing five straight, have now won four in a row to reach the .500 mark at 5-5 and need a victory on Saturday to send the retiring Jeffries our a winner at 6-5. Jeffries is 127-77-4 during his tenure as Bulldog head coach and 178-132-6 overall during his college career as a head coach. He began his college coaching career as an assistant at North Carolina A&T under Hornsby Howell I 1968. In 1972, he joined the staff of Johnny Majors at Pittsburgh where he served as an assistant for one year before coming to S.C. State in 1973. The Bulldogs were 1-9 the year before Jeffries took over. The Union, SC native promptly guided his team to a 7-3-1 record and a berth in the Orange Blossom Classic against Florida A&M. Over the next five seasons at S.C. State, Jeffries won five MEAC titles and one national black championship (1976). He may be the only college head coach to have coached against both Eddie Robinson of Grambling and the late Bryant of Alabama. Jeffries, who earned a civil engineering degree at S.C. State in 1960, will remain at the university in athletic development.
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