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| Birmingham-Southern athletics photo |
Tony Joe White has been named the new head coach of the Austin College football program, athletics director David Norman has announced. White comes to Sherman after having served in the same role at Birmingham-Southern since 2017.
"We're excited to welcome Tony Joe White to the Austin College family," said Norman. "His accomplishments on the field speak to his football knowledge and pedigree as a coach. He also brings an outstanding background and understanding of NCAA Division III athletics, and as a native Texan, comes in with tremendous connections within the state's football community."
Austin president Steven P. O'Day affirmed the welcome, saying, "We know Coach White, having faced him on the field many times as an opponent, and are pleased to bring him on to lead our football program. Tony Joe has an excellent reputation as a program builder and we are confident that he will continue to enhance the quality of the experience for our student-athletes, competitively, culturally, and academically."
White is Birmingham-Southern's all-time leader in winning percentage, and comes in fresh off of a campaign in which the BSC Panthers finished 7-3. In 2021, Birmingham-Southern went 10-2 and earned a trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs. During his time at BSC, White has coached two players who finished as finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, given each year to the top player in NCAA Division III football in the areas of athletics, academics and community service. His teams have also regularly finished among the nation's leaders for both overall and rushing offenses. During White's tenure with the Panthers he has produced Southern Athletic Association players of the year each season.
"I am thrilled to join the Austin College family," said White. "My family and I are excited to return home to northeast Texas. Restoring the pride and winning tradition that many Austin College alumni are accustomed to is going to be our priority, and I believe the administration is motivated to see that task through."
Search committee member Larry Fedora, a longtime NCAA Division I coach and a member of Austin College's 1981 national championship team, said, "After talking with numerous candidates during this extensive national search, I am extremely excited about the hiring of Tony Joe White to lead the football program for Austin College." Fedora continued, "It was obvious that Tony Joe has all the qualities that are needed to have great success at Austin College. He's proven that he knows how to build a consistent winner, and I look forward to him establishing a winning culture at Austin College."
Prior to coaching at Birmingham-Southern, White served as the director of football operations and offensive coordinator at Centre from 2008-2016. During his time at Centre his offenses broke numerous school records, including averaging better than 500 total yards-per-game in 2015, and averaging more than 30 points per game for seven seasons. Centre was nationally ranked two times during his tenure and qualified for the NCAA playoffs twice. During their 2011 campaign, the Colonels advanced to the second round of the national tournament with White calling the offensive plays.
White, who played quarterback at Texas A&M-Commerce from 1991-1993, graduated from Texas State University in 1996 before doing his graduate work at Louisiana Tech University in 1997. In addition to coaching at BSC and Centre, he has also served at Belhaven University as the quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator; on the coaching staff at Brownsboro High School; at Southeast Missouri State University as special teams coordinator and running backs coach; and as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Southwestern Baptist University. White is a member of the high school coaches associations of Texas, Mississippi, and Kentucky, as well as the American Football Coaches Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.