A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Rockey Felker was a five-sport letterman at Brownsville High School. He earned All-State honors in football under the tutelage of his father, Edwin “Babe” Felker, an assistant coach at the school.
Felker first arrived on the campus of Mississippi State University in December, 1970, when he signed a football scholarship to play quarterback for the Bulldogs. After playing one year of freshman ball, he was under center for most of the next three seasons. In 1974, Felker led MSU to a 9-3 overall record, leading the SEC in total offense and directing the Bulldogs to a win over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. He was named the Nashville Banner SEC Player of the Year and the Birmingham Post-Herald Outstanding Senior Player for his stellar final season.
Felker began his coaching career while at MSU following his playing days, working for head coach Bob Tyler. He worked with the junior varsity and the varsity receivers, quarterbacks and running backs until 1979 when he took an assistant coaching job at Texas Tech.
In 1981, he took an assistant coach position at Memphis State University followed by one at the University of Alabama. Then in 1986, Rockey Felker became the youngest Head Coach in the nation at age 33 when he accepted the position at his alma mater, Mississippi State University. He directed the Bulldogs to a 6-5 mark in his first season at the helm, the school’s first winning season in five years. Felker’s team won road games at Syracuse and at defending SEC champion Tennessee during that ’86 season and he became the first State head football coach to post a winning record in his initial season since the legendary Darrell Royal in 1954. Felker served as State’s head football coach through the 1990 season.
Following those five years as head coach, Felker worked nine more years as an assistant coach. He had two terms as the offensive coordinator at the University of Tulsa (1991-92 and 1997-99) and spent four years on the coaching staff at the University of Arkansas, working three seasons (1994-96) as the school’s offensive coordinator. He helped the Razorbacks win the SEC Western Division title and earn a berth in the ’95 SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks concluded that season with a bid to the Carquest Bowl in Miami.
Currently, under Head Coach Dan Mullen, Felker is serving as Coordinator of Player Personnel and High School Relations.