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.jpg) DeBerry speaks at a press conference before the 2000Silicon Valley Football Classic. | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1938-06-08)June 8, 1938 (age 87) Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1956–1960 | Wofford |
| Positions | Flanker,defensive back,linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1962 | Bennettsville HS (SC) (asst.) |
| 1963–1968 | McClenaghan HS (SC) (asst.) |
| 1969–1970 | Wofford (assistant) |
| 1971–1979 | Appalachian State (assistant) |
| 1980 | Air Force (QB) |
| 1981–1983 | Air Force (OC/QB) |
| 1984–2006 | Air Force |
| Baseball | |
| 1963–1968 | McClenaghan HS (SC) |
| 1970 | Wofford |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 6–15 (college baseball) 169–109–1 (college football) |
| Bowls | 6–6 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 3WAC (1985, 1995, 1998) 1WAC Mountain Division (1998) | |
| Awards | |
| Football AFCA Coach of the Year Award (1985) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (1985) Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (1985) 3×WAC Coach of the Year (1985, 1995, 1998) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2011 (profile) | |
James Fisher DeBerry (born June 8, 1938) is a retiredAmerican football player. He served as the head football coach at theUnited States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, compiling a record of 169–109–1. DeBerry led 17 of his 23Air Force Falcons squads to winning records and captured 12bowl game bids. Three times his teams won theWestern Athletic Conference title. Once in 1985, then in 1995, and again in 1998. DeBerry retired on December 15, 2006 with the most wins and highest winning percentage (.608) in the history of Air Force football. He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2011.
DeBerry was born inCheraw, South Carolina in 1938. In high school, DeBerry was a four-sportvarsity letter winner, lettering five times inbaseball, three times each infootball andbasketball and twice intrack. He was also an all-state selection in baseball and football. DeBerry graduated in 1960 fromWofford College inSpartanburg, South Carolina, where he lettered infootball andbaseball. He was also active in theKappa Sigma fraternity while in college.
After six years of coaching and teaching in theSouth Carolinahigh school ranks, DeBerry returned toWofford, where he coached for two years as an assistant/ when Wofford won 21 consecutive games and was ranked first in theNAIA. For the next nine years, 1971 to 1979, DeBerry was an assistant coach atAppalachian State University. While DeBerry was there, Appalachian State was ranked in the top 10 nationally in either rushing, total offense or scoring offense three times. In 1974, the team ranked sixth nationally in pass defense when he was defensive coordinator.
Air Force head coachKen Hatfield hired DeBerry in 1980 as thequarterbacks coach. The next year, DeBerry was promoted to offensive coordinator. In 1982, Air Force posted an 8-5 record while averaging 30.4 points per game, and beatVanderbilt in the1982 Hall of Fame Classic. After the 1983 season, Hatfield left Air Force forArkansas after the Falcons' 10-2 season andIndependence Bowl victory. DeBerry was promoted to head coach.[1]
During DeBerry's tenure as head coach, Air Force won at least eight games 11 different seasons. DeBerry's first team, in 1984, was 8–4 and beatVirginia Tech in the1984 Independence Bowl. The next year, the Falcons won 12 games, and were ranked as high as No. 4 nationally until a 28–21 loss atBYU. In the finalAssociated Press poll, the Falcons ranked eighth. DeBerry coached the Falcons to threeWestern Athletic Conference championships: 1985, 1995, and 1998. The 1998 team went 12–1 for the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in school history and finished the season ranked 10th nationally.[1]
DeBerry's Falcons dominated theCommander-in-Chief's Trophy series contested yearly with arch rival military academiesArmy andNavy. Air Force won the trophy 14 times and shared it once in DeBerry's 21 seasons.[1] However, DeBerry lost the AF-Navy game and, subsequently, the CIC trophy each of his last four years at Air Force.[2] He was a combined 34–8 against the Black Knights and Midshipmen and is the most successful coach in service academy history. DeBerry led the Academy to 12 bowl games, in which he had a 6–6 record.
Although DeBerry had been portrayed as a role model for most of his career, he came under fire for controversial racial remarks he made in October 2005 after a 48–10 loss toTexas Christian University (TCU). DeBerry said TCU "had a lot moreAfro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did. Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean thatCaucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well."[3][4] Earlier that year, DeBerry had been criticized for a banner posted in the team's locker room that was interpreted by some as inappropriate religious proselytizing.[3]
On December 15, 2006, DeBerry announced his retirement.[5]
DeBerry was namedWAC"Coach of the Year" three times in his career, and in 1985, won thePaul "Bear" Bryant Award asNCAA college football's coach of the year. DeBerry was also awarded the State Farm Coach of Distinction award in 2001, and was inducted into the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. DeBerry received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Wofford during its graduation ceremony in 2003.
In 1996, DeBerry served as president of theAmerican Football Coaches Association, and is currently the chairman of the AFCA ethics committee. He was honored by theIndependence Bowl as a member of its Hall of Fame. In 2005, DeBerry was honored with induction into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame.
DeBerry and his wife, LuAnn, are notably active in church, charity and community affairs. Coach DeBerry gives motivational speeches to religious and corporate groups, and LuAnn is a volunteer with theRonald McDonald House and theAmerican Cancer Society. DeBerry has strong ties to theFellowship of Christian Athletes and was inducted into the organization's Hall of Champions in 2005. He and LuAnn have assisted fund-raising efforts forEaster Seals, theMarch of Dimes, theSalvation Army and theAmerican Heart Association. DeBerry's son, Joe, played in the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers baseball organizations. DeBerry currently resides in Grove, Oklahoma.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force Falcons(Western Athletic Conference)(1984–1998) | |||||||||
| 1984 | Air Force | 8–4 | 4–3 | 3rd | WIndependence | ||||
| 1985 | Air Force | 12–1 | 7–1 | T–1st | WBluebonnet | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1986 | Air Force | 6–5 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1987 | Air Force | 9–4 | 6–2 | 3rd | LFreedom | ||||
| 1988 | Air Force | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1989 | Air Force | 8–4–1 | 5–1–1 | 2nd | LLiberty | ||||
| 1990 | Air Force | 7–5 | 3–4 | 6th | WLiberty | ||||
| 1991 | Air Force | 10–3 | 6–2 | 3rd | WLiberty | 24 | 25 | ||
| 1992 | Air Force | 7–5 | 4–4 | T–5th | LLiberty | ||||
| 1993 | Air Force | 4–8 | 1–7 | 9th | |||||
| 1994 | Air Force | 8–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1995 | Air Force | 8–5 | 6–2 | T–1st | LCopper | ||||
| 1996 | Air Force | 6–5 | 5–3 | 4th(Pacific) | |||||
| 1997 | Air Force | 10–3 | 6–2 | 2nd(Pacific) | LLas Vegas | 25 | |||
| 1998 | Air Force | 12–1 | 7–1 | 1st(Mountain) | WOahu | 10 | 13 | ||
| Air Force Falcons(Mountain West Conference)(1999–2006) | |||||||||
| 1999 | Air Force | 6–5 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2000 | Air Force | 9–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | WSilicon Valley | ||||
| 2001 | Air Force | 6–6 | 3–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2002 | Air Force | 8–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | LSan Francisco | ||||
| 2003 | Air Force | 7–5 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2004 | Air Force | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2005 | Air Force | 4–7 | 3–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2006 | Air Force | 4–8 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| Air Force: | 169–109–1 | 100–75–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 169–109–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wofford Terriers(NCAA College Division independent)(1970) | |||||||||
| 1970 | Wofford | 6–15[6] | |||||||
| Wofford: | 6–15 (.286) | ||||||||
| Total: | 6–15 (.286) | ||||||||
