Doug Porter

Contents

Douglas T. Porter (August 15, 1929 – June 5, 2024) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator.

Biography

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Porter played high school football at Father Bertrand High School. He played college football as a quarterback at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans for three seasons and later earned a Master of Science degree from Indiana University Bloomington.

Porter served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1954, reaching the rank of first lieutenant. In 1954, he was an assistant coach at Father Betrand High School, working on the staff of his father, W. P. Porter. He then returned to Xavier as backfield coach and director of intramural sports. In August 1961, Porter was appointed as athletic director and head football coach at Mississippi Vocation College—now known as Mississippi Valley State University—in Itta Bena, Mississippi.[1]

He served as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (1961–1965), Howard University (1974–1978), and Fort Valley State University (1979–1985, 1987–1996), compiling a career college football record of 155–110–5. He was also an assistant coach at Grambling State University under Eddie Robinson between his stints at Mississippi Valley State and Howard. Porter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Porter died in Grambling, Louisiana, on June 5, 2024, at the age of 94. His funeral was at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church.[2]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffsNCAA#
Mississippi Vocational Delta Devils (South Central Athletic Conference) (1961)
1961Mississippi Vocational2–4
Mississippi Vocational / Valley State Delta Devils (NCAA College Division independent) (1962–1965)
1962Mississippi Vocational2–5
1963Mississippi Vocational6–3
1964Mississippi Vocational5–4
1965Mississippi Vocational6–3
Mississippi Vocational / Valley State:21–19
Howard Bison (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) (1974–1978)
1974Howard8–2–14–1–1T–2ndL Orange Blossom Classic
1975Howard8–34–23rd
1976Howard5–5–13–2–1T–3rd
1977Howard5–52–45th
1978Howard4–62–4T–5th
Howard:30–21–215–13–2
Fort Valley State Wildcats (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1979–1985)
1979Fort Valley State4–4–12–2–1
1980Fort Valley State6–4–14–0–1
1981Fort Valley State9–24–1
1982Fort Valley State10–26–01stL NCAA Division II First Round7
1983Fort Valley State8–15–01st9
1984Fort Valley State8–35–2
1985Fort Valley State8–1[3]4–0[3][3]
Fort Valley State Wildcats (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1987–1996)
1987Fort Valley State4–63–4
1988Fort Valley State3–72–5
1989Fort Valley State6–45–12nd
1990Fort Valley State4–72–5T–6th
1991Fort Valley State7–35–2T–1st
1992Fort Valley State7–46–11st10
1993Fort Valley State6–4–15–1–12nd
1994Fort Valley State5–55–3T–3rd
1995Fort Valley State3–83–57th
1996Fort Valley State6–53–3T–2nd
Fort Valley State:104–70–369–36–3
Total:155–110–5

References

  1. 1."Porter, McAfee New Grid, Cage Mentors To Direct MVC Squads". Jackson Advocate. Jackson, Mississippi. August 5, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 2."Doug Porter, former HBCU coach who was the oldest living College Football Hall of Famer, dies at 94". AP News. June 7, 2024.
  3. 3.[3.2][3.3]Porter coached the first nine games of the season before suffering a heart attack. Gerald T. Walker replaced Porter as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Fort Valley State finished the year with an overall record of 9–3, sharing the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and losing in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.