Jay T. Jeffrey is an American former college athlete and coach. He played

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 ...

at the University of Missouri for one season before transferring to Baylor University where he participated in both football and baseball. Jeffrey was also the first baseball head coach of

Southwest Texas State University Texas State University is a public university, public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin, Greater Austin metropolitan area ...

(now known as Texas State University–San Marcos) in their transition to NCAA Division I competition in 1985.

Playing career

Jeffrey was a standout athlete at

Shawnee Mission West High School Shawnee Mission West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. Shawnee Mission West is one of several public high schools located within Overland Park an ...

in Overland Park, Kansas. When picking the university where he would want to continue his football career, Missouri and Baylor were his first and second choices, respectively, even though his older brother Neal had previously been a star quarterback at Baylor. Jeffrey enrolled at Mizzou in the fall of 1977. He did not play during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

season. After backing up starting quarterback

Phil Bradley Philip Poole Bradley (born March 11, 1959), is an American former professional baseball outfielder / designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the American League (AL) Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White S ...

during his entire

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season in 1978, he grew discontented and looked to transfer. Jeffrey called Baylor head coach

Grant Teaff Grant Garland Teaff (; born November 12, 1933) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at McMurry University (1960–1965), Angelo State University (1969–1971), and Baylor University (1972–1992), compiling ...

and was told he would have to earn the starting job, but he transferred anyway. Due to NCAA bylaws pertaining to transferring, Jeffrey had to sit out the 1979 season. He then beat out the other quarterbacks to earn the starting job for the 1980 season and guided the Bears to a Southwest Conference championship with a 10–1 record. The Bears reached a #6 national ranking heading into the

1981 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1981 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 45th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the ninth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tid ...

against #9 Alabama. The Crimson Tide, led by

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

, won the game 30 to 2, however, and Baylor ended their season with a 10–2 overall record. The following season, Jeffrey's last, did not duplicate the success of the 1980 season. The Bears finished with a 5–6 overall record and tied for sixth place in the conference. Along with playing football, Jeffrey also suited up for the Baylor baseball team during his final two years at the school. In his junior year he played shortstop while in his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year he was a left fielder. Once his college athletic career ended in the spring of 1982, Jeffrey was finished as an athlete.

Coaching career

Jeffrey graduated from school in the spring of 1982 and followed former Baylor football assistant

John O'Hara John Henry O'Hara (January 31, 1905 – April 11, 1970) was one of America's most prolific writers of short stories, credited with helping to invent ''The New Yorker'' magazine short story style.John O'Hara: Stories, Charles McGrath, ed., The L ...

to Southwest Texas State University. He served as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach through the 1986 season. While at Southwest Texas State, Jeffrey also became the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

's head coach for the 1985 and 1986 seasons.NCAA Coaches Database
Retrieved on May 22, 2012. The 1985 season marked the school's first ever as a Division I member. He compiled an overall record of 60 wins and 52 losses in two years as the head coach.

Head coaching record

Later life and personal

Jeffrey earned his master's degree in education in 1987 from Southwest Texas State. He moved back to Waco, Texas and has worked at Time Manufacturing ever since. He has five children by his wife, Chris, and his son Ryan played football and ran track at Baylor. Jay Jeffrey, his older brother Neal, and his father James are all inductees into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

''Waco Tribune'' article
on 1980 Baylor Bears football team {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffrey, Jay 1959 births Living people Baseball coaches from Texas American football quarterbacks Baseball players from Kansas Baseball shortstops Baylor Bears baseball players Baylor Bears football players Missouri Tigers football players People from Overland Park, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Texas State Bobcats baseball coaches Texas State Bobcats football coaches Texas State University alumni