List of Black Head Football Coaches at NCAA Division I (FBS) Schools

In 1979, Willie E. Jeffries became the first Black man hired as a head coach for a NCAA Division I-A football program when he took the job at Wichita State University (WSU). Jeffries served as the Shockers’ head coach for five seasons (‘79 through ’83), posting his best season in 1982 when the Shockers went 8 -3, finishing 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Unfortunately, Willie Jeffries’ tenure at WSU became mired in controversy when the NCAA cited him and his coaching staff for numerous rules infractions to include recruitment violations.  As a result of the NCAA findings, Jeffries was terminated and the WSU football program was placed on probation for the ’83 and ’84 seasons.

Three years after Jeffries’ firing, Wichita State University President Warren Armstrong announced the termination of school’s football program at the end of the 1986 season.

Before his stint at WSU, Jeffries was a head coach at historically black college/university (HBCU) South Carolina State University (’73 to ’78). After leaving Wichita State, Jeffries was hired at Howard University where he served as their head coach from ’84 to ’88.  Jeffries returned to South Carolina State, in 1989, where he stayed until he finished his head coaching career in 2001. 

Willie E. Jeffries was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. His major accomplishments during his distinguished 29-year-long career as a college head football coach included being the first African-American head football coach at a NCAA Division IA program and winning three Black College Football National Championships at South Carolina State (’76, ’77 and ’94). 

The Sports Highlights USA list of Black Head Football Coaches at NCAA Division I-A Schools is dedicated to Willie E Jeffries and to all the Black pioneers that came before him, and to all those that dare to lead the way into the future.

Black FBS Head Coach Changes for 2021-2022

Black NCAA FBS Head Coaching Hires for 2021-2022 

1. Virginia hires Clemson Offensive Coordinator Tony Elliot to replace Bronco Mendenhall.
2. Temple grabs Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton to replace Roy Carey.
3. Marcus Freeman replaces Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. For more about Freeman, click following link “The Most Intriguing NCAA FBS Head Coaching Changes of 2021-2022.”

Other Black FBS Head Coaching Moves for 2021-2022

• Jay Norvell leaves Nevada after five seasons to take the HC job at Colorado State.
•  Jimmy Lake, fired from Washington after only 13 games as head coach.

There are currently only 14 Black head coaches at NCAA FBS programs, representing just 10.8% of the head coaches at the 130 member institutions.

Studies from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES), which serves as a comprehensive resource for issues related to gender and race in amateur, collegiate and professional sports, show that approximately 54.3% of the student-athletes on NCAA FBS teams are African American (as of 2018). The latest interim U.S. Census data from 2015 estimates that Blacks represent 13.3% of America’s population. But you’re telling me that the representation of Black head coaches in the FBS can’t even match — let alone exceed — the U.S. Black population figures?

These figures are even more disturbing considering that the majority of NCAA FBS players are African American—and it has been so for nearly three decades.

For a more in depth discussion on this topic, check out ESPN’s Ivan Maisel’s article  “The lack of Black college football coaches is still glaring, and so are the excuses behind it,”  

Last updated on December 21, 2021

List of Black Head Coaches at NCAA FBS (formerly Division IA) Schools

Related Links:

2021-2022 NCAA FBS Head Coaching Changes

2021-2022 NCAA Football Recruiting Calendars

Odds of Receiving a College Football Full Scholarship

How to Manage the College Football Recruiting Process