Kermit Blount Named as New Hornet Head Football Coach

Coach Blount brings 27 years of intercollegiate football coaching experience to Delaware State University – including the last 16 years as the head football coach for Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

 

During his 1993 to 2010 tenure at Winston-Salem, Coach Blount had a career record 91-87-3. He guided the Rams to two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championships and a total of three CIAA Championship game appearances. He also led Winston-Salem to two Pioneer Bowl appearances, one of which the team emerged as the victor (1999).   

 

Coach Blount was honored as the CIAA Coach of the Year and as the Washington D.C. Pigskin Coach of the Year, as well as the 100% Wrong Club Coach of the Year – each award in both 1999 and 2000.

 

In addition to his on-the-field successes, Coach Blount increased the Winston-Salem players’ graduation rate from 42% in 1993 to 80% by 2009.

 

Prior to his Winston-Salem tenure, he served from 1983-1992 in assistant coach posts with South Carolina State University, Howard University and East Carolina University. During all three coaching stints, he coached quarterbacks and receivers; Coach Blount also served as the offensive coordinator for S.C. State.

 

Throughout his career, a number of players from his teams have gone to play professionally in the NFL, CFL and the Arena Football League, including William Hayes, a starting third-year defensive end for the Tennessee Titans.

 

President Williams said that Coach Blount’s record speaks for itself.

 

“Coach Blount has proven he knows how to guide student-athletes to championship-level seasons as well as accomplish high standards of academic success,” Dr. Williams said. “The Search Committee is to be commended for its diligence in reviewing the candidates, in engaging in earnest deliberations and arriving at its recommendation.” 

 

The selection of Coach Blount was the culmination of DSU’s nationwide search process that resulted in the attraction of more than 50 candidates, said Candy Young, the chair of the DSU Search Committee and associate athletics director/senior women’s administrator.

 

President Williams appointed the members of the diverse search committee, which in addition to Ms. Young included: Kemal Atkins, vice president of Student Affairs; Dr. Jan Blade, associate professor of sports sciences, Carolyn Curry, vice president of Institutional Advancement and chief of staff, Barry Granger, DSU Board of Trustees member; Eric Hart, associate athletics director/Student Services; Frank Marshall, founder/longtime president of the DSU Boosters and alumnus (’62); Calvin Miner, DSU student athlete; Alfred Outlaw, DSU Alumni Association representative and class of 1971; Edna Piper, athletics administrative assistant; and Joseph Purczyki, former DSU head football coach (1981-84).

 

Ms. Young said the committee reviewed the resumes and interviewed a selected pool of candidates who emerged as strong contenders. “The search process was extensive, thorough and very fair,” Ms. Young said.

 

Athletics Director Derek Carter said that the new coach will fit in well at DSU.

 

“Kermit Blount stood out among the many outstanding candidates for the position because of his broad experience, proven leadership and vision for Delaware State University football,” AD Carter said. “His record of leading young men to success on the field and in the classroom makes him an ideal fit for the university and the football program.”

 

Coach Blount said he has always admired DSU from afar, and now he is excited to be a part of the institution. He said while he is interested in winning football games, he is especially interested in his players’ academic successes.

 

“The no. 1 thing we have to have players to understand is the vision and the mission of the University,” Coach Blount said. “I am very interested in our players graduating.”

 

A native of Richmond, Va., Coach Blount has a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education from Winston-Salem State University.

 

He will be joined in his move to Delaware by his wife Ava. Their union of 25 years has produced two grown children, April and Bryan.