William James Nicks (August 2, 1905 – November 2, 1999) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach. He coached at

historically black colleges Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

from 1930 to 1965. Nicks served as the head football coach at

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a Private university, private African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlan ...

in Georgia (1930–1935, 1937–1939, 1941–1942) and at

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

in Texas (1945–1947, 1952–1965). He was the NAIA Football Coach of the Year in 1963 and his teams were declared the

black college football national champions The Black college football national championship, also named the HBCU football championship, is a national championship honor that, since 1920, has been regularly bestowed upon the best College football teams among historically Black colleges and ...

six times. Nicks was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

as a coach in 1999.

Playing career

Nicks competed in high school and college football for

, playing end and halfback while being the team punter. He also competed on the Morris Brown College basketball, baseball, and track and field teams.

Coaching career

Morris Brown

Nicks took first collegiate head coaching position at his alma mater,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Nicks was head football coach at Morris Brown from 1930 to 1935, again from 1937 to 1939, and for two more years in 1941 and 1942. His record at Morris Brown was 65–21–13. His 1941 team was named "Black College National Champions" by ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acquired in 1965 by ...

''.

Prairie View A&M

Nicks was the eighth head coach at

Prairie View, Texas Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States, situated on the northwestern edge of the metropolitan area. The population was 8,184 at the 2020 census. Prairie View A&M University, the second-oldest public university in Texas, i ...

, serving 17 seasons in two stints, from 1945 to 1947 and 1952 to 1965. His career record at Prairie View was 126–36–8—far and away the winningest coach in school history. Nicks led the Panthers to five black college national titles and six

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

titles. In his day, he was reckoned as the HBCU answer to

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

; indeed, his .787 winning percentage was slightly higher than Bryant's .780. This was partly because he had the pick of nearly every good black high school player in Texas in the days of segregation.Sports Illustrated/CNN
"Once Upon A Time..." by John Ed Bradley, August 28, 1995 His teams were among the few who held their own against Eddie Robinson's powerhouses at

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, United States. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African A ...

; Robinson later said that he dreaded playing Prairie View. While the end of Jim Crow caused a severe talent drain for HBCUs, Nicks was able to stem the tide for a time. He did so by relying on his former players who had gone into coaching; at one point nearly all of the black high school coaches in Texas had played for him. He often called his former players to send their best prospects to "The Hill," and wasn't above threatening to have them fired if they didn't do so. However, Prairie View's fortunes tailed off rapidly after Nicks' retirement. From 1966 to 2003, Prairie View had 14 head coaches, none of whom left "The Hill" with a winning record. This period included an NCAA-record 80-game losing streak from 1989 to 1998.

Honors and death

Nicks was inducted into the

as a coach in 1999. He died on November 2, 1999, in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where he was buried.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicks, Billy 1905 births 1999 deaths American football ends American football halfbacks American football punters American men's basketball players Morris Brown Wolverines baseball players Morris Brown Wolverines football coaches Morris Brown Wolverines football players Morris Brown Wolverines men's basketball players Prairie View A&M Panthers and Lady Panthers athletic directors Prairie View A&M Panthers football coaches Morris Brown Wolverines men's track and field athletes College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Griffin, Georgia Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American coaches of American football African-American college athletic directors in the United States 20th-century African-American sportsmen