Hall of Fame

Archie Lee Cooley

  • Class
  • Induction
    2007
  • Sport(s)
    Football , Legend
  • Mississippi Valley State
Coaching Career Foot-Print
  • Cooley’s early coaching began at the high-school level (Southside HS in Heidelberg, Mississippi) from about 1964 to 1970.
  • He then moved into college coaching:
  • Assistant at Alcorn State University (DL/LB coach, 1971–1973).
  • Assistant at Tennessee State University (LB coach starting in 1974).
  • Head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) from 1980 to 1986.
  • Later head-coaching stints:
  • University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (1987–1990).
  • Norfolk State University (1993).
  • Paul Quinn College (2000–2006) — he helped start/lead the program there.
  • His career college head-coaching record was 83 wins, 78 losses, 5 ties.
Impact at Mississippi Valley State
  • When he took over at MVSU, the football program was modest; within a few years, under his leadership and his offense, the team rose significantly.
  • The 1984 season marked the school’s only I-AA playoff appearance.
  • His tenure elevated MVSU’s profile and left a lasting legacy on how offenses at various levels would evolve.
  • The school honored him: for example, in 2017 the football program’s headquarters at MVSU was named the “Archie Cooley Jr. Devils Den” in his honour.