When a man toils for forty years within the ranks of collegiate coaching, it is a credit if he leaves the profession with the deepest respect of his peers. Jess Neely was such a man, honored and respected by his fellow coaches. He was elected president of the American Football Coaches Association and later received the organization’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for contributions to football. Neely played end and halfback at Vandy and was captain of the 1922 team. He obtained a law degree at Vanderbilt, then went into coaching at Southwestern (now Rhodes College) in 1924-1927. For the next three years he was assistant football coach and head baseball coach at Alabama. Then came the head coach’s job at Clemson in 1931-1939. His 1939 team beat Boston College 6-3 in the Cotton Bowl. Rice next hired him, and he stayed twenty-seven years, 1940-1966. He won four Southwest Conference championships and was in seven bowl games. During his tenure, Rice built a stadium seating 70,000. His overall record for forty years was 207-176-19. Neely finally returned to Vanderbilt as director of athletics in 1967-1971. Born January 4, 1898, in Smyrna, Tennessee, Jess Neely died April 9, 1983, in Weslaco, Texas.
