L-R Kevin Higgins, Dabo Swinney, Bobby Lamb, Fisher DeBerry, Mike Ayers, Art Baker

Former legendary Air Force head football coach Fisher Deberry hosted the South Carolina Coaches for Charity inaugural dinner Thursday night at the Embassy Suites in Columbia.  Deberry is the all-time winningest head football coach for the United States Air Force Academy.  He is originally from South Carolina, and has recently moved back to the state.

Fisher DeBerry

Deberry and his wife Lu Ann lead the Fisher Deberry Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and education of single parents and their children.  For this event, they have united with head coaches from around the state to raise money and awareness for each of their respective organizations.

The event was roughly from 6-10 pm, starting with a meet and greet, followed by dinner.  There was also a silent and live auction with various sports memorabilia up for grabs ranging from a George Rogers autographed helmet to a “Broadway Joe” Namath autographed Jets jersey, among others.  All proceeds were donated to the charities involved.  The evening concluded with each coach giving a speech about their respective teams and to raise awareness for their charities.

Dabo Swinney

The coaches involved were

• Dabo Swinney – Clemson -  Dabo’s All-In Team Foundation
• Steve Spurrier – USC – Gamecock FCA
• Mike Ayers – Wofford – FCA of Spartanburg
• Kevin Higgins – The Citadel – Hope for Haiti
• Bobby Lamb – Furman – Greenville FCA
• Buddy Pough – SC State – FCA of Orangeburg
• Pough was unable to appear at the dinner, and SC State was instead represented by Hall-of-Fame member Willie Jeffries.

Steve Spurrier

Various sponsors also participated in the dinner, including Founders Federal Credit Union, State Farm, Rod Walters, IPTAY, The Citadel Football Association, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.  Former  coach Art Baker served as the Master of Ceremonies, and Burt Trembley promoted the event with the help of his team.

Hall of Famer

Former SC State football coach Willie Jeffries and former Blackville-Hilda star Troy Brown were named Tuesday to the College Football Hall of Fame by the Hall’s Divisional Veterans Committee.  They will be part of the class inducted this July in South Bend, IN.  Jeffries spent a total of 19 seasons at State and had a 128-77-4 record.  He is the school’s winningest coach and the winningest coach in the history of the MEAC.  And he became the first black head coach of a Division 1 program when he was hired by Wichita State.

Brown played his college football at Marshall and then had a standout 15 year career in ithe NFL with the New England Patriots.  He was part of three Super Bowl winning teams.