South Carolina State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough will retire at season's end, the coach announced Thursday.
“I wanted to let you all know before the season got underway,” Pough told his team before Thursday's practice, via SC State. “No one is running me off. It’s my decision. When you have done something for 47 years, it’s a bit tough to give it up but it’s time. I will be all right.
“I’ve had a great ride here at SC State and I will continue to care about each one of you the rest of my days. Now, let’s go out and have a good season."
Pough played offensive line at SC State in the early 1970s and entered coaching in 1976 in the South Carolina high school ranks.
He'd return to SC State as an assistant in 1979, then earned the head coaching job at South Carolina's Keenan High School in 1989. Pough won a Class AAA state championship with a perfect 15-0 record at Fairfield-Central. He is a three time South Carolina High School League coach of the year.
After eight seasons at that level, Pough joined South Carolina's staff in 1997. As the Gamecocks' running backs coach, Pough helped engineer one of the greatest 1-season turnarounds in college football history. After posting an 0-11 mark in Lou Holtz's 1999 debut, in 2000 South Carolina went 8-4, defeated Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, and posted a No. 19 AP ranking in 2000.
Pough became South Carolina State's head coach in 2002, and in 21 seasons he's led the Bulldogs to eight MEAC championships, four FCS playoffs berths, and a victory over Jackson State in the 2021 Celebration Bowl.
Pough enters his final season with a 146-87 career record.
South Carolina State opens Pough's swan song Saturday against Jackson State in the SWAC/MEAC Challenge in Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.