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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A standout alumnus of Millikin University is set to receive a high honor this weekend in recognition of his achievements as a football coach at historically black colleges and universities.
The university announced that Fred “Pop” Long will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. A member of the Class of 1918 and the university’s first African American graduate, Long was a star athlete on the Big Blue football and baseball teams. He helped the football team earn its first undefeated season (8-0-1) in 1916, and he is a charter member of the Big Blue Athletic Hall of Fame.
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The 1916 Millikin Big Blue Football team (photo coutesy of Millikin UNiversity) -
Photo courtesy of Millikin University
Long joined the Army after graduating during World War I, serving until 1920. After his service, he played professional baseball for two seasons in the National Negro League. When Long turned 25, he switched to football and started a 44-year career in coaching.
He coached at four HBCUs in Texas — Paul Quinn College, Wiley University, Prairie View A&M and Texas College — from 1921 to 1965. He amassed a career record of 224–145–31 and won three Black College National Championships in 1928, 1932, and 1945 at Wiley College. His teams also won 10 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.
Long died at the age of 72 in Tyler, Texas, when he was 72.
Long is already a member of several other Halls of Fame, including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame, the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame and the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. On Saturday, he will join another: the Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF).
The hall honors college football players, coaches and contributors from HBCUs and was founded in 2009. Its museum is located at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Long was selected out of 28 finalists by the BCFHOF committee, which consists of journalists, commentators, historians, former NFL General Managers and executives, and BCFHOF members. The Class of 2025 also includes:
- Henry Dyer — Grambling State University
- Rashean Mathis — Bethune-Cookman University
- Jacquay Nunnally — Florida A&M University
- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie — Tennessee State University
- Jay “Sky” Walker — Howard University
The Class of 2025 will be honored in a ceremony in Atlanta.
