Last week, Coach Damon Wilson stunned the HBCU sports world and Bowie State faithful when he accepted Morgan State's offer to jump from Division II to Division I.
Wilson's challenged himself and the student-athletes at Bowie State and built a successful program. Thirteen years later, he confronts a similar task to transform a struggling Morgan State football team into a winning program.
HBCU Sports Nation's host Mark Gray spoke with the Bears' new head coach to discuss the transition and his new role.
PERFECT OPPORTUNITY
"I was able to coach over 13 years, " Wilson said. "It's never going to be a good time to leave. But I think it's the perfect opportunity."
Wilson takes over a team after former head coach Tyrone Wheatley left to join the NFL's Denver Broncos as running backs coach. In two seasons under Wheatley, the football team registered a 5-18 overall record and 3-10 in the MEAC.
SUPPORT FROM MORGAN STATE ADMINISTRATION
Wilson believes he will have the support of President Wilson and the new VP and Director for Intercollegiate Athletics, Dena Freeman-Patton.
"I felt good that they were going to do the necessary things at the university, to put the university in the best situation with regards to the football program," Wilson shared with Gray. "I look at this as a challenge. You're talking about a football program that hasn't won consistently for years now. And for me, it's a challenge is similar to the situation I stepped into at Bowie State, but not totally. I think Bowie State was pretty much on a level ground, but we just were able to take it to the next level."
MOVE TO PWI CONFERENCE?
Since the end of the 2021 football season, several schools of the MEAC have contemplated leaving the storied conference for larger Division conferences. Wilson addressed Morgan State's situation and said, "Whatever the administration decisions they make, I'm going be supportive. At the end of the day, this is football."
Coach Wilson continued, "I'm not trying to just win a Celebration Bowl. I want to win a national championship. In order to do that, you must be a PWI school at your level. So from a FCS standpoint, you must beat those universities to have a shot. Morgan State would always be an HBCU is an academic institution. However, if the football and the athletic program moves into a different conference, then we would just have to play football in that conference."
To move up a weight class and 40 minutes up MD-295 to Morgan State will be a considerable undertaking for Coach Wilson. Still, you can sense that he is the right man to take the Bears' football program to the next level. Will it happen overnight?
We shall see.
*Watch Mark Gray's Interview with Coach Damon Wilson
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