Jimmie Keeling (born August 10, 1935) 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 ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

from 1990 to 2010. After a highly successful coaching career in Texas

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, Keeling was chosen to revive the

Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football The Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team represents Hardin–Simmons University in the sport of college football. Hardin–Simmons began competing in intercollegiate football in 1897. The program rose to prominence under Frank Kimbrough who comp ...

program, which hadn't played a football game since 1963. Keeling became the winningest coach in Hardin–Simmons football history in 1997, surpassing Warren B. Woodson. Keeling graduated from Evant High School in 1953. He started his collegiate career at

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020. History John Tarleton Agricultural ...

, then a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

, and finished his undergraduate work at

Howard Payne University Howard Payne University is a private Baptist university in Brownwood, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Howard Payne College was founded by Reverend Noah T. Byers and Dr. John David Robnett in 1889. The institu ...

in 1958. Jimmie Keeling's first coaching job was as assistant football coach at Hico High School, Hico, Texas, from September 1956 to June 1957. His first head coaching job came soon after, taking the reins as head coach and athletic director at

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in 1959. Keeling had several stops in his early coaching career, namely at Tulia, Elgin, Lubbock Estacado,

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and Lamar Consolidated. His 1968 Lubbock Estacado squad went 14–0 and claimed the Class 3A state championship, beating Refugio High School, 14–0. He also guided Lamar Consolidated to a regional championship in 1978. In 1979 he overtook a storied football program at San Angelo Central, and remained there for 10 seasons. He guided the Bobcats all the way to the Class 5A regional championships in 1982 and in 1988, reached the state quarterfinals. Keeling's last high school stop was at

John Tyler High School Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade. In 2020, the Tyler I. S. D. school ...

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

for one year. Hardin-Simmons chose Keeling to revive their football program in 1990, after a 37-year absence. Keeling's Hardin-Simmons Cowboys had 19 consecutive winning seasons. His teams won 10 conference titles and played in 19 playoff games, and Keeling was named conference coach of the year six times. In 1995, Keeling was rewarded for his 30 years of excellence in high-school coaching when he was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor. Keeling posted a career high school record of 182–125–12.Dave Campbell's Texas Football: All-Time Coaching Records
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Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeling, Jimmie 1935 births Living people Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football coaches High school football coaches in Texas Howard Payne University alumni People from San Angelo, Texas