BLUEFIELD – The two-time Black College National Champions arise from a 40-year hiatus.
Bluefield State announced Anthony Coaxum as the new head football coach on Friday.
“I will be a champion for the community, for the athletic program, and I’ll be a champion for the college,” said Coaxum.
BSC Interim Athletic Director Derrick Price is thrilled to introduce Coaxum to the Big Blue Family.
Big Blue Fans,
B-State Football Returns After 40 Year Absence! Help us welcome new Head Football coach, Anthony Coaxum. #GOBIGBLUES pic.twitter.com/woVZBMoPPw
— BSC Athletics (@BStateBlues) October 9, 2020
“Hiring a head coach after 40 years means the world to me,” said Price. “Being a part of bringing football back to Bluefield State College is historic. Who doesn’t want to be a part of history? This is a major step for the athletic department. This means we are taking the meaningful steps to become a highly competitive NCAA Division II athletic department.”
BSC President Robin Capehart is pleased Coaxum will lead the program to the next level.
“Expanding our athletics program is integral to the goals we set shortly after coming to Bluefield State,” Capehart said.
Coaxum comes to BSC from the University of Northern-Colorado where he was the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach.
Following his time as a student-athlete (a three-year starter as a defensive back) at the US Military Academy at West Point , Coaxum coached in the NFL for four seasons, including one season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2014 as an assistant special teams coach and later with Denver from 2015-17 as an assistant special teams coordinator, during which time the Broncos won the 2016 Super Bowl .
During Coaxum’s time with Baltimore’s special teams, the Ravens were the NFL’s highest ranked kickoff return unit.
Tony Coaxum is married to Derrian. They have a son Dura’n, who is currently serving in the Army.
Bluefield State Football–historical background
Bluefield State College fielded its first football team in 1914. In 1980, BSC discontinued football, several years after the closure of student housing on campus.
The College achieved national notoriety in the late 1920s under the leadership of head football coach Harry “Big Jeff” Jefferson. Coach “Jeff’s” teams won national Black College football championships in 1927 and ’28, outscoring opponents 516-53 over that two year period.
During the 1960s and ’70s, former BSC defensive back Joe Fourqurean played for 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League and was a multiple year selection as a CFL All-Pro DB. Former BSC football players Preston Watkins and John Monroe also played in the NFL
In 2010, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) posthumously presented its “Trailblazer Award” to Coach Jefferson in recognition for his excellence as a coach and leader during the decade of the 1920s.
Other sports
Bluefield State College announced in August 2020 the addition of 12 new sports to its athletics department for the 2021-2022 school year. These will join the ten existing sports to become a robust program for more than 400 student-athletes.
Courtesy: Bluefield State Athletics
