Morgan State’s football program received a tremendous boost with the hiring of Damon Wilson, head coach who won the Bowie State championship. Former Bears head coach Tyrone Wheatley scrapped the program to accept a position as running backs coach with the Denver Broncos. Wheatley struggled to deliver a winning team at Morgan State and left the team with a 5-18 overall record, 3-10 in the MEAC.
RECOVERY OF MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS
Morgan State was without anyone to direct its athletic programs until they hired Dena Freeman-Patton as vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. On June 1, she will become the first woman in the institution’s 155-year history to head the athletic department.
Hiring Damon Wilson as head coach for them and President David K. Wilson was a coup. Morgan State shared a MEAC championship in 2014 and has not won a straight MEAC title since 1979. The only other season the Bears won was 1971.
DAMON WILSON IS A WINNER
Wilson is a winner and should have been interviewed for multiple openings in SWAC, MEAC, FCS or Division II over the years. The former Bulldogs coach had an 89-45 record in thirteen seasons at Bowie State and won four NCAA Division II playoff trips. The 2021 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year fielded three consecutive CIAA football championship teams ( 2021, 2019 and 2018) and won the Northern Division of the conference five times in 2009, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Morgan State is a little behind on its current recruiting efforts with the late hiring of Damon Wilson. However, expect him to use the NCAA transfer portal and his recruiting connections to funnel talent to Morgan State.
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I believe that with Wilson’s track record of recruiting highly acclaimed football players and assembling a solid coaching staff, Morgan State is in capable hands to have a consistently successful football program. His relationship with Freeman-Patton will be instrumental in the development of Bears football for years to come.
ABOUT DAMON WILSON
Coach Wilson issued the following statement regarding his hiring at Morgan State:
“Thank you to President Wilson and Ms. Freeman-Patton for giving me this opportunity to lead such a historic football program as the next head coach,” said Coach Wilson. “Morgan is a great university in a great position to grow. I look forward to working with the student-athletes to build on the university’s legacy and to partnering with the alumni and other supporters of the program to ensure our student-athletes have the support they need to thrive on and off to be successful on the pitch.”
Coach Damon Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and a Master of Arts in Organizational Communications from Bowie State University.
He is a member of the American Football Coaches Association, the CIAA Coaches Association, the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Morgan State will hold an official press conference on June 10th to introduce Damon Wilson as the new head football coach.
