Ronald Lee Dickerson Jr. (born August 31, 1971) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach for

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He was the head football coach at

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Christian university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It was founded as Boiling Springs High School in 1905. Gardner–Webb is classified among "Doctoral/Professional Univer ...

, a position he held from January 2011 to January 2013. Dickerson was the first African-American head football coach in the history of the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

. He resigned from Gardner–Webb on January 18, 2013 to pursue other opportunities. He is the son of Ron Dickerson.

College career

Dickerson Jr. was recruited by

Ken Hatfield Kenneth Wahl Hatfield (born June 6, 1943) is an American former college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy (1979–1983), the University of Arkansas (1984–1989), Clemson Unive ...

to play running back at the University of Arkansas, where he went to school from 1989 to 1992. His freshman year he helped Arkansas win the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

(SWC) championship and play in the

1990 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1990 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Tennessee Volunteers and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Background The Razorbacks won their 2nd consecutive Southwest Conference championship, attended their 6th consecutive bowl appearance and second consecut ...

, finishing 10–2. Hatfield left Arkansas after the 1989 season and he was replaced by offensive coordinator

Jack Crowe Jack Crowe (born May 2, 1947) is an American former college football coach. He played quarterback at West End High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a position he held ...

. After a dismal 3–8 season in 1990 that saw Dickerson Jr. gain 362 yards rushing, he was moved to wide receiver for his junior season in 1991. That year he caught 25 passes for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns, helping the Razorbacks to a 6–6 record and an appearance in the 1991 Independence Bowl. During his senior season of 1992, Arkansas would leave the Southwest Conference to their new home in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). His head coach, Crowe, was fired by then Arkansas athletics director

Frank Broyles John Franklin Broyles (December 26, 1924 – August 14, 2017) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri ...

after losing the season opener at home to Division I-AA The Citadel, 10–3. Joe Kines, the defensive coordinator of the team, took over as interim head coach, and Arkansas would finish their first, and very tumultuous, season in the SEC with a 3–7–1 record. The highlight of the season was an upset victory in Knoxville over then-No. 4 Tennessee 25–24, where Dickerson Jr. would have his best season statistically in 1992, catching 32 passes for 437 yards and 4 TDs.

Professional playing career

Dickerson played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

from 1993 to 1994 as a kick returner. He also played two seasons in the World League for the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

and the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

West Florida profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Ron Jr. 1971 births Living people American football running backs American football wide receivers Alabama State Hornets football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football players Benedict Tigers football coaches Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football coaches Jackson State Tigers football coaches Kansas City Chiefs players Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) coaches London Monarchs players Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football coaches Missouri State Bears football coaches Morgan State Bears football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Scottish Claymores players Temple Owls football coaches West Florida Argonauts football coaches Players of American football from Denver People from Okfuskee County, Oklahoma People from State College, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Centre County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen