Don Lee (American football)
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Virginia–Lynchburg |
| Record | 0–8 |
| Playing career | |
| 1990–1993 | Olivet Nazarene |
| Position(s) | Defensive end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1994 | Momence HS (IL) (OLB) |
| 1995–1997 | Middle Georgia JC (DE) |
| 1998–2001 | Southwest Baptist (DL) |
| 2002 | Cumberlands (LB) |
| 2003–2005 | Belhaven (AC) |
| 2006–2008 | Belhaven |
| 2009–2010 | Olivet Nazarene |
| 2011 | Concordia (AL) (AC) |
| 2012 | Concordia (AL) (DC) |
| 2012–2014 | Concordia (AL) |
| 2014–present | Virginia–Lynchburg |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 19–60 |
Don Lee (born c. 1971) is a former American football player and current head coach at Virginia University of Lynchburg. He served as the head football coach at Belhaven College from 2006 to 2008 and at Olivet Nazarene University from 2009 to 2010, compiling a career college football record of 19–52. Lee was the second African American head coach in history of the NAIA's Mid-South Conference[1] and is a recipient of a National Football League minority coach fellowship.[2]
Playing career
Lee played defensive end at Olivet Nazarene University[3] from 1990 until 1993, where he also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education in 1995.[4]
Coaching career
Assistant coaching
Lee's coaching career began with Momence High School in Momence, Illinois, where he served as outside linebackers coach for the school. His next move was Middle Georgia College as the defensive ends coach from 1995 to 1997. At Middle Georgia, the defense was ranked seventh in the NJCAA in total defense during the 1995 season.[5]
Lee entered the collegiate coaching ranks as defensive line coach at Southwest Baptist University from 1997 until 2001, and in 2002 moved to be the linebackers coach at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.[1] His next move was to become an assistant coach at Belhaven, where he would later become the head coach.[6]
Belhaven
Lee was the [7] head football coach for the Belhaven College Blazers[8] located in Jackson, Mississippi from 2006 to 2008.[9] and was the fourth football coach at the school. His coaching record at Belhaven was 13 wins, 20 losses, and 0 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, he was ranked third at Belhaven in total wins and second at Belhaven in winning percentage (.500).[10] The team won the Mid-South Conference West Division title in the process.[11]
After several years as an assistant coach,[12] Lee began his tenure at Belhaven by producing only the second winning season in the history of the school's football program in 2006.[13]
Lee has modified the school's approach of bringing in junior college transfer students to play and is focusing on building through new recruits. He has accented that program by bolstering a junior varsity schedule which encourages incoming freshmen to choose Belhaven through the desire of more playing time.[14] In 2007, his team Belhaven, produced a 5-6 overall record and averaged 33.7 points and allowed 37.3 per game.[15] His challenges in the 2008 season include overcoming being outscored in the fourth quarter of play[16] and overcoming a four win losing streak to begin the season.[17]
Olivet Nazarene
In December 2008, Lee was hired to serve as head coach of his alma mater Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Illinois.[18] He resigned after only two seasons in November 2010 and cited family and personal reasons for the resignation.[19] During his two year stint as head coach, Lee led the Tigers to a record of 2–20.[19]
Concordia College Alabama
From Olive Nazarene, Lee took an assistant position with Concordia College Alabama. In his first season, the Hornets finished the 2011 season with a 6–5 record, and won their last game against the Division II Stillman.[20] Concordia opened their 2012 season with a 20–19 upset victory over Mississippi Valley State of the Division I FCS.[21] Lee was elevated to head coach of the Hornets after the third game of the 2012 season,after the former Head Coach Shepard Skanes got fired.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belhaven Blazers (Mid-South Conference) (2006–2008) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Belhaven | 6–5 | 6–2 | 1st (West) | |||||
| 2007 | Belhaven | 5–6 | 4–4 | T–2nd (West) | |||||
| 2008 | Belhaven | 2–9 | 5th (West) | ||||||
| Belhaven: | 13–20 | ||||||||
| Olivet Nazarene Tigers (Mid-States Football Association) (2009–2010) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Olivet Nazarene | 2–9 | 1–6 | 7th (Mideast) | |||||
| 2010 | Olivet Nazarene | 0–11 | 0–7 | 8th (Mideast) | |||||
| Olivet Nazarene: | 2–20 | 1–13 | |||||||
| Concordia Hornets (NAIA Independent) (2012–present) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Concordia | 3–3 | |||||||
| 2013 | Concordia | 1–9 | |||||||
| Concordia: | 4–12 | ||||||||
| Virginia–Lynchburg Dragons (Independent) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Virginia–Lynchburg | 0–8 | |||||||
| Virginia–Lynchburg: | 0–8 | ||||||||
| Total: | 19–60 | ||||||||
References
- 1 2 Columbia Daily Herald
- ↑ National Football League "NFL minority coaching fellowship attracts 83 participants"
- ↑ Victory Sports Network, Belhaven College Football
- ↑ Columbia Daily Herald He is now married to Mary Lee
- ↑ Victory Sports Network "Belhaven's Lee Pursues Through Tough Family Issues" Jason Dannelly, February 17, 2006
- ↑ Mid-South Conference
- ↑ Victory Sports Network "Mid South West Division September 3rd Report" Jason Dannelly September 5, 2006
- ↑ Clarion Ledger "Blazers shoot for consistency" by Stephen K. Lee, August 24, 2008
- ↑ NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI DAILY JOURNAL "Majors target first win over Blazers" September 13, 2008
- ↑ Belhaven College coaching records
- ↑ Fox 40 Now Sports "2008 Belhaven College Football Preview" By Kristina Pink August 24, 2008
- ↑ NCAA News Transactions
- ↑ Natchez Democrat "Forrest White, Jonathan Gamberi become Blazers" By Matt Rutherford, February 13, 2007
- ↑ Victory Sports Network "Campus Report: Belhaven College-Jackson, MS" by Jason Dannelly, November 3, 2005
- ↑ Tuscaloosa News "Revamped Tigers face Belhaven tonight" by Andrew Carroll August 30, 2008
- ↑ Hattiesburg American "Belhaven's top priority: Be more consistent" By Stephen K. Lee, August 24, 2008
- ↑ The Clarion Ledger "The End Zone" by Mike Christensen October 1, 2008
- ↑ "Don Lee returns to alma mater to lead Tiger football program". NCNNews.com. December 18, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- 1 2 "Lee resigns as Olivet's head football coach". NCNNews.com. November 9, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ↑ Davidson, John (November 13, 2011). "Stillman drops homecoming game to Concordia". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Concordia–Selma nips Mississippi Valley 20–19". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. September 1, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2014.