Dal Shealy (born August 1, 1938) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mars Hill College—now known as

Mars Hill University Mars Hill University is a private Christian university in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The university offers 35 undergraduate majors and includes a school of nursing and graduate schools in education, criminal justice, and management. From 1859 to ...

—in 1969, Carson–Newman College—now known as

Carson–Newman University Carson–Newman University is a private Baptist university in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Carson-Newman is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1851, the university enrolls about 2,500 stu ...

—from 1970 to 1973, and at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

from 1980 to 1988, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 79–74. Shealy also served as an assistant coach at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, and

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He grew up in Batesburg, South Carolina, now Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina and attended Batesburg-Leesville High School and Carson–Newman College—now known as Carson–Newman University. Shealy's son,

Vic Shealy Victor Dalmuth Shealy (born July 14, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach at Houston Christian University. He was previously the defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach at the University of ...

, is currently the head football coach at

Houston Baptist University Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Its Cultural Arts Center hou ...

Early life and military service

Shealy earned a total of 12 varsity letters in three sports (football, baseball and basketball) at Batesburg-Leesville High School in the 1950s. Shealy played on the line for the Panthers in football for coach Gus Allen along with catching for the baseball team. Shealy was a part of the inaugural class of the Batesburg-Leesville (SC) Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. Shealy entered the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and played football with the

Quantico Marines Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...

, which were National Service Champions. They played in the Leatherneck Bowl and the first Missile Bowl. At Quantico, played with King Dixon, former halfback at the University of South Carolina. Dixon later served as athletic director at South Carolina.

Coaching career

Shealy was the head football coach at Laurens High School in

Laurens, South Carolina Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History Located in upstate South Carolina, the city of Laurens is named after Henry Laure ...

from 1962 to 1964. In May 1965, he was hired by Mars Hill College—now known as

—in

Mars Hill, North Carolina Mars Hill is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,869 at the 2010 U.S. Census, and was estimated at 2,032 in 2018 by the U.S. Census. It is the home of Mars Hill University, t ...

as head track coach, ends coach for the football team, and director of the men's intramural athletics program.

Life after coaching

Shealy left coaching in 1989 to become executive vice president of the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

. He was named president in 1992. He retired from the presidency in 2005. Shealy has also written several books including, "One Way To Play: Drug-Free!" and "One Way To Play: A Game Plan for Coaches."

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

American Football Coaches Foundation profile

South Carolina Football Hall of Fame profile
1938 births Living people American football guards Auburn Tigers football coaches Baylor Bears football coaches Carson–Newman Eagles football coaches Carson–Newman Eagles football players Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Mars Hill Lions football coaches Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football players Richmond Spiders football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches College track and field coaches in the United States High school football coaches in South Carolina People from Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina Coaches of American football from South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub