Jerry Vandergriff
Encyclopedia
Jerry Vandergriff is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach. He was a football player at Angelo State College
Angelo State University
Angelo State University is a public, coeducational, doctoral level degree-granting university located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained University status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the...

 in San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...

, and the University of Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi is a state university located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, on Ward Island in Oso Bay. The university is part of the Texas A&M University System...

. He was a football coach at Angelo State from 1971 to 2004, including 23 years as head coach. He is the winningest coach in Angelo State history and ranks 39th in wins in NCAA Division II history.

Biography

Vandergriff is a native of Tulia, Texas
Tulia, Texas
Tulia is a city in, and county seat of, Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,117 at the 2000 census; in the 2005 census estimate, it had fallen to 4,714. The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, approximately two miles east Interstate 27...

. He began his association with Angelo State Rams football as a freshman football player. He later recalled, "Basically, I played here when I was a freshman coming in and just fell in love with the place." Vandergriff was the quarterback of the 1960 San Angelo team that finished with a 7–3 record and played in the 1960 Hospitality Bowl in Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...

. When San Angelo temporarily discontinued the football program after the 1960 season, Vandergriff transferred to Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi is a state university located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, on Ward Island in Oso Bay. The university is part of the Texas A&M University System...

 (then known as the "University of Corpus Christi"), where he received All-Texas and Little All-America honors. Vandergriff received his bachelor's degree at Corpus Christi in 1964 and later received a master's degree from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...

.

After receiving his degree, Vandergriff coached high school football for seven years. In 1971, he returned to Angelo State as an assistant coach. He was an assistant coach under Grant Teaff
Grant Teaff
Grant Garland Teaff is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at McMurry University , Angelo State University , and Baylor University , compiling a career college football record of 170–151–8...

, James Cameron and Jim Hess
Jim Hess
James Hess is a former head football coach at Angelo State University, Stephen F. Austin State University and at New Mexico State. From 1974 to 1981 he coached at Angelo State, where in 1978 the team went undefeated and won the NAIA national championship...

. He spent several years as the team's offensive coordinator, including the 1978 team that compiled a 14–0 record and won the NAIA National Championship. He became the head coach in 1982 and served in that capacity through the 2004 season. In 23 years as head coach, he compiled a record of 143–101–2 (91–58–1 in Lone Star Conference play) and had 20 winning seasons, including 18 straight winning seasons. He led Angelo State to four NCAA Division II postseason appearances and was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in 1984, 1987 and 1997. He is the winningest coach in Angelo State history and ranks 39th all-time in wins among NCAA Division II football coaches.

Vandergriff's best season as a head coach was 1989 when the Rams had an 11–3 record, advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason seminfinals, and scored a school-record 466 points (33.3 points per game). Vandergriff had another 10-win season when the 1997 Rams compiled a 10–2–0 record and outscored their opponents 409 to 241. The Rams under Vandergriff had the winningest record of all Texas universities in the 1980s.

Vandergriff coached 112 first team all-conference selections and 38 All-Americans in 23 years as Angelo State's head coach, including nine players who won the J.V. Sikes Award as the outstanding lineman and two who won the J. W. Rollins Award as the outstanding back)s. His teams won the Lone Star Conference championship in 1984 and 1987 and won the conference's South Division crown in 1999 and 2000.

Vandergriff resigned his position at Angelo State at the end of the 2004 football season. After retiring as the school's football coach and men's athletic director, Vandergriff remained active as a director of the Angelo Football Clinic and a director of the Cactus Bowl
Cactus Bowl
The Cactus Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played each January in Kingsville, Texas which showcases the best NFL draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility in NCAA Division II...

, the NCAA D-II All-Star Game. In 2005, he was recognized by the All-American Football Foundation for career accomplishments.

Vandergriff and his wife, Rose Ann Vandergriff, have a son, Bo Vandergriff.
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