Virginia Union University Athletics Director Joe Taylor announced today that the search committee has narrowed the field down to four finalists for its head football coach position.
The four finalists are Mark James, Alvin Parker, Herbert Parham and Orlando Mitjan.
MARK JAMES
Mark James has spent the last two seasons at Virginia Union University as coach of the defensive line and has four season overall at the collegiate level.
James has made several coaching stops along his way to Virginia Union. He was a Head Coach for nine years at two major high schools in south Florida. James was able to build powerhouse programs that gained national recognition for producing some of the top division I prospects and several NFL players.
In his tenure he has worked with a number of successful coaches and future and present NFL players. His list of NFL players coached includes Patrick Simms, Louis Holmes, Stanley Mcglover, Leonard Hankerson, Major Harris, Hanik Milligan, Daryl Mcglover and Super bowl winning Josh Bynes.
He started his coaching career as a high school defensive assistant at Coconut Creek in 1997. In 1998, James made the decision to attend Virginia Union University after transferring from University of Louisville. Upon graduation from Virginia Union University in 2000, he returned back to the south Florida area to return to his coaching pathway.
James was the Head coach at Dillard High in 2004-2005. From 2005-2011 he was the Head coach at Boyd Anderson where James one three district championships and lead the team to become the school’s all-time winningest football coach. James has also had short stints at Norfolk State University (Linebackers) and St. Paul’s College in 2011(Offensive Coordinator). His thumb print in south Florida athletics is that he is known for placing the most players in college in an eight-year period than any other program in the state of Florida. James was a defensive lineman at University of Louisville from 1990-1993 and Virginia Union University from 1998-2000.
He earned a degree in history from VUU in 2000. James was named the National VUU Alumni of the Year in 2007. He earned his Masters degree in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University and is scheduled to earn his PhD in higher education administration in June of 2014. Read FULL HBCU SPORTS
