Former WT football coach Bill Kelly dies at 75
Former West Texas A&M head football coach Bill Kelly died Saturday morning following a month-long battle with pneumonia. He was 75-years old.
Kelly spent three seasons as the head coach of the Buffs beginning in 1985, when WT was still a Division I program and going by the name West Texas State. After going 6-3-1 his first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Kelly oversaw the transition of football to the Division II level.
To say the result of the move was an instant success would be underselling it.
In 1986, in its first year in the Lone Star Conference, WT (still going by West Texas State) went 6-0 in conference play and 7-4 overall. The undefeated mark meant the Buffs were LSC champions in their first year of competition. The Buffs went 5-6 the year after before Kelly's football career came to an end. Kelly went on to practice family and criminal law as a defense attorney in Canyon following the end of his time as the Buffs' coach.
Prior to his time coaching the Buffs, he spent two seasons coaching another football team that now resides in the LSC from 1983-84. Kelly coached the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds for two seasons when they were still members of the NAIA. They went 13-7-1 under Kelley's leadership, including a NAIA Division I quarterfinals appearance in 1983.
A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, Kelly graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969 after playing receiver for four seasons. He went on to hold an assistant coaching position at the University of Richmond, where he received his Juris Doctor. He was also the head coach at Snow College for two seasons where he led the team to a pair of JUCO Bowl games.
According to close friend Tod Mayfield, Kelly had been battling pneumonia and "other infections" for roughly 30 days. He had a prolong stay in the ICU and had to be intubated for some of that time. The intubation tube was removed late last week, but according to Mayfield, Kelly did not progress.
Kelly was moved to home hospice with his son and daughter on Friday. He passed on Saturday around 10 a.m. Funeral arrangements are in the process of being made.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Former WT football coach Bill Kelly dies at 75
