Bill Kelly (June 28, 1947 – May 13, 2023) was an
American football player and coach. Kelly played football for the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1965 to 1969 as a
wide receiver,
running back, and
kick returner.
From 1971 to 1974, he served as an assistant coach for the team at the
University of Richmond, where he received his Juris Doctor.
Kelly moved on to coach first as an assistant from 1979 to 1980, then as head at
Snow College in
Ephraim, Utah for the 1981 and 1982 seasons where he took the team to two bowls, one being Valley of the Sun. During Kelly's time there, the team ranked in the top 10 junior college teams in America.
The 1983 to 1984 seasons saw Kelly at
Eastern New Mexico University in
Portales, New Mexico. His overall coaching record at Eastern NMU was 13 wins, 7 losses, and 1 tie. This ranks him seventh at Eastern NMU in terms of total wins and third at Eastern NMU in terms of winning percentage.
West Texas State University, now
West Texas A&M University, in
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in, and the county seat of, Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of West Texas A&M University and ...
had Kelly as their head coach from 1985 to 1987. In 1986, the team moved to the
NCAA's
Division II and won the
Lone Star Conference championship. Kelly could be heard and seen weekly on Sunday evenings on ''The Bill Kelly Show'', both on television and radio. During the half-hour program, Kelly and his host discussed the game from the previous week, the upcoming game and strategy, and recruitment.
Kelly was awarded Coach of the Year in 1985 at the
Missouri Valley Conference, and again in 1986 at the Lone Star Conference.
Kelly practiced as a family and criminal defense attorney in Canyon, Texas.
Kelly died from pneumonia on May 13, 2023, at the age of 75.
Former WT football coach Bill Kelly dies at 75
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Head coaching record
College
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Bill
1947 births
2023 deaths
Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds football coaches
North Carolina Tar Heels football players
Richmond Spiders football coaches
Snow Badgers football coaches
West Texas A&M Buffaloes football coaches
Texas lawyers
Sportspeople from Goldsboro, North Carolina
People from Canyon, Texas