Former Howard University student athlete and head coach Steve Wilson has been named to the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame.
Wilson will join four other inductees who will be enshrined during a brunch on Friday, March 15, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia. The Hall of Fame class will also be recognized during the 2013 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 11-16 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Virginia.
Wilson coached the Howard football team from 1989-2001. He led his team to an 8-3 overall record and was named MEAC Coach of the Year in his first season with the Bison in 1989.
During the 1990’s, he recorded a 70-percent winning percentage and his team was named Black College national champions twice, in 1993 and in 1996. The 1993 team recorded an 11-0 overall mark and competed in the NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs for the first time in school history. During that same year, Wilson earned MEAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. Wilson, Howard’s winningest football coach, won the Heritage Bowl in 1996 over Southern University.
Several of his players earned All-MEAC first and second team honors, All-American accolades and Player of the Year recognition. Wilson’s list of former players who are now coaching include former quarterbacks Roy Anderson (safety coach with the Indianapolis Colts) and Pep Hamilton (Offensive Coordinator at Stanford), former wide receiver Gary “Flea” Harrell (current Howard Head Football Coach), Billy Jenkins (defensive back coach at Howard) and Ted “Sweet Flight” White (Offensive Coordinator for Howard). Former All American quarterback Jay Walker (ESPN analyst), White, Jenkins and Harrell all played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) along with linebacker Tracy White, who is currently a member of the New England Patriots.
As a player, Wilson excelled at all levels. He was a three-year letterman as a defensive back and wide receiver at Northern High School in Durham, NC where he was voted all stat in 1974 and selected to play in the prestigious North-South All-Star game in 1975.
Wilson then brought his talents to Howard University. In 1978, his final collegiate season, he was named All-MEAC and honorable mention All American as a wide receiver. During his career, he held records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions. Although these records have since been broken, Wilson still holds the school record for kickoff returns in a season (40). Some of his accomplishments still rank in the Top 10 in the MEAC.
He graduated from Howard University in 1979 with a marketing degree from the School of Business.
“I’d like to applaud the 2013 Hall of Fame class for all of their accomplishments both athletically and professionally,” said Dennis E. Thomas, MEAC Commissioner. “They have made significant contributions to their communities, institutions and the conference.”
Wilson in a member of the Black College Hall of Fame and was named a MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legend in 2012.
