Sport(s) Football Name Haney Catchings | Overall 19–41 Alma mater Alcorn State University | |
Born January 15, 1949 ( 1949-01-15 ) 1983–19851986–19871987–19891990–199119921993–19951996–19982000–20012002–20062007–2008 Albany State (OC)Prairie View A&M (OC)Prairie View A&MTuskegee (OC)Alabama State (OC)TuskegeeFayetteville State (OC)Seventy-First HS (NC)E. E. Smith HS (NC) (assistant) Died April 19, 2015, Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States | ||
Haney Catchings (January 15, 1949 – April 19, 2015) was an American college football coach. He served as head coach at Prairie View A&M University from 1987 to 1989, and Tuskegee University from 1993 until 1995, compiling a career record of 19 wins and 41 losses.
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Prairie View A&M
Catchings was the 16th head coach for the Prairie View A&M University Panthers located in Prairie View, Texas and held that position for three seasons, from 1987 until 1989. He initially served in an interim capacity for the final seven games of the 1987 season, taking over for Conway Hayman who was fired after a 0–3–1 start. His overall coaching record at Prairie View was 8 wins and 19 losses. He only put together one team with an even record, when his 1988 team finished 5–5—the once-proud program's first non-losing season in 13 years. However, the school subsequently forfeited one win over Southern due to an ineligible player.
Longest losing streak
Catchings' last two losses of the 1989 season were the start of an 80-game losing streak between 1989 and 1998—the longest in NCAA history.
Academic accusations
Catchings was accused of pressuring his players to abandon their studies in favor of football. According to multiple players, Catchings "withheld textbooks and financial aid until players proved themselves on the field. For some players, it was the middle of the semester before Catchings thought them worthy of getting their books. As a result, 43 players on the 55-man roster had grade point averages below the NCAA minimum of 2.0. The players demanded that Catchings be fired. When the administration was slow to act, the players boycotted the program.
Program suspension
Serious damage occurred to the program in 1989 when Catchings was charged with filing fraudulent expense reports. Due in part to the fraud, Prairie View opted not to field a team in 1990. In 1991, he pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges related to the scam. He was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay over $1,500 in fines and restitution.
Tuskegee
Catchings later became the head coach at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was the 14th head coach for the Golden Tigers and held that position for three seasons, from 1993 until 1995. His coaching record at Tuskegee was 11 wins and 22 losses. Catchings died of cancer in 2015, aged 66.