Edward Waters Football stepped up in prestige the moment Head Football Coach Alvin B. Wyatt, Sr. stepped onto our Jacksonville Campus. Coach Wyatt, a former NFL player and longtime Head Coach at Bethune-Cookman University enters the year with an impressive 105-74 lifetime record as a Head Football Coach (EWC 14-21 (2013-2016); B-CU 91-53 (1997-2009)).
Born in Jacksonville, a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University, BS (1970) and Florida A&M University, M Ed. (1977), Wyatt excelled at every level of the sport as an All-Conference Selection in high school (1965), a four-year All-Conference Southern Inter-Collegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Defensive Back at B-CU, and a member of the prestigious Kodak All-American Team in 1969. Coach holds the B-CU record for 5 interceptions in a single game, with 34 career interceptions, a 102-yard kickoff return, and a 25.9 punt return average.
Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 6th round of the 1970 NFL Draft, Wyatt excelled at reaching the end zone as a Cornerback and on Special Teams with punt returns for touchdowns for the Raiders and Buffalo Bills and returning an interception for a touchdown for the Bills against the Washington Redskins. He completed his NFL career with the Houston Oilers and then scored the first touchdown in the history of the World Football League (WFL) as a member of the Jacksonville Sharks. However, it would be as a Head Coach that Wyatt would truly distinguish himself.
Look at the accomplishments of his football teams during his tenure at B-CU:
MEAC Championship (2002); 2 NCAA Playoff Appearances (2002, 2003); Most Wins in a Single Season (11); Winningest B-CU Football Coach (91-53). As the wins came, the personal accolades followed: Street and Smith's Eddie Robinson National “Coach of the Year” Award (1998); Eddie Robinson SBN Black College “Coach of the Year 1998”; Daytona Beach Quarterback Club’s Florida “Coach of the Year” (1998); 100% Wrong Club’s “Coach of the Year” (1998, 2002); Jasper Award “Coach of the Year” (1998); MEAC “Coach of the Year” (2002). In addition, Wyatt coached B-CU’s Women’s Basketball team to a 260-200 record, and was named MEAC Women’s Basketball “Coach of the Year” in 1984.
Lastly, while Coach Wyatt takes great pride in all the young men he has coached who have gone on to successful careers, it is especially noteworthy that he has coached the following players who went on to their own professional football careers: Rashead Mathis, DB (Jacksonville Jaguars/NFL); Nick Collins, DB (Green Bay Packers/NFL); Eric Weems, WR (Tennessee Titans/NFL); Damien Cook, OL (Baltimore Ravens/NFL); Steve Baggs, LB ( Calgary Stampeders/CFL) and Lee Williams, DL(Houston Oilers, NFL).
