ESPN.com: College Football Monday, December 1, 2003 Croom becomes first black SEC coach
------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- ESPN.com news services STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Sylvester Croom became the first black head football coach in the Southeastern Conference, accepting an offer Monday to take over Mississippi State. The school announced Croom's decision in a release posted on its Web site. A news conference will be held Tuesday to introduce him. Croom informed Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton that he would take the job less than 24 hours after Templeton said he had offered it. Croom, 49, has never been a head coach, but has been an NFL assistant with five teams since 1987 and worked for Bear Bryant and Ray Perkins at Alabama from 1977-86. "I'm happy to see Mississippi State step up," John Mitchell, a Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach and former teammate of Crooms' at Alabama, told ESPN.com. "I've had some bad views of the state of Mississippi for a long time, since I was growing up. For them to beat Alabama and the rest of the states not only to hire an African-American coach, but someone as qualified as Sylvester Croom, it says a lot for them." The Bulldogs completed a 2-10 season, their third straight last-place finish in the SEC West, by losing to Mississippi 31-0 Thursday. They went 8-27 in Jackie Sherrill's final three seasons with just three SEC victories. Croom came close to landing the Alabama job earlier this year after Mike Price was abruptly dismissed in May. The Crimson Tide were criticized by some, including civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, for hiring Mike Shula, who is white, over Croom, who has more experience. Every other BCS conference has had at least one black head coach, but the shortcoming is not exclusive to the SEC. There were only four black head football coaches among 117 Division I-A football schools this season. The SEC has been trying to help its members be more inclusive in the hiring process by providing lists of potential minority candidates to its athletic directors. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- ESPN.com: HELP | MEDIA KIT | CONTACT US | TOOLS | SITE MAP Copyright ©2003 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use and UPDATED Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Click here for a list of employment opportunities at ESPN.com. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
