Paul Kenneth Harrison ( – March 4, 2019) was an American football and basketball

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and athletic director. He was the first coach in Southeastern Massachusetts (now known as UMass Dartmouth) history as he coached there for their first five seasons. He also coached basketball for Massasoit Community College along with being the athletic directors for Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Framingham High School, and Northbrook Academy.

Early life and education

Harrison was born in 1949 in Middleborough, Massachusetts. He was the son of Paul and Winona Harrison. He attended and graduated from Andover Institute of Business with an

Associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

, Unity College with a Bachelor's degree in science, and

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...

for his Master's degree.

Coaching career

Football

Until 1983, Harrison coached high school football for Middleborough High School. In 1984, Harrison coached

Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School is a suburban public high school (grades 812) in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, United States. It opened in 1957 and was expanded and renovated in 1979, and again in 2006. The school serves the communities of Yarmout ...

. In 1985, Harrison was hired by Southeastern Massachusetts to be the team's first head coach in program history. For the first three seasons he led the team as it was only a club team. In 1988, the team's first non-club season, he led them to a 5–4 record with their first win ever coming against Western New England 23–15. The following season would be his last with the team as they went 2–7. In 2017, Harrison returned to UMass Dartmouth as a volunteer assistant coach.

Basketball

Until 1983, Harrison coached Middleborough High School as a basketball coach alongside being the football coach. He coached his younger brother, David. In 1999, Harrison was hired by Massasoit Community College to be their

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

head coach, replacing Mike Boyle after a season without a team. In two seasons with the team he led them to a 16–26 record, neither of them above .500.

Head coaching record

College football

College basketball

Administrative career

From 2001 until Harrison's death in 2019, he was the athletic director for Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Framingham High School, and Northbrook Academy. For Northbrook he was also the headmaster.

Personal life

For 31 years, Harrison was a teacher of business and social studies at Middleborough High School. For 22 years, Harrison coached tennis for boys and girls throughout many summer camps. Harrison was a founding father and

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

to the Rochester Congregational Church.

References

External links

UMass Dartmouth Corsairs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Paul 1949 births 2019 deaths UMass Dartmouth Corsairs football coaches High school football coaches in Massachusetts People from Middleborough, Massachusetts High school basketball coaches in Massachusetts College women's basketball coaches in the United States