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Chennis Berry Makes Historic Hire With Tess Abbott Joining SCS Football Staff

Originally posted on HBCUs on SI | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 8:57 AM ET

South Carolina State head football coach Chennis Berry announced a historic hiring with the addition of Tess Abbott as the Director of Recruiting on the Bulldog Football Coaching Staff.

Abbott joined the Bulldog football staff on July 1, 2025, becoming the first female in program history to serve on the football staff.

"I am committed to advancing recruiting efforts through strategic planning, relationship development, and operational excellence while upholding the tradition, discipline, and championship standard of South Carolina State Bulldog football," Abbott said.

In her role, she will lead all aspects of the Bulldogs' recruiting strategy, including the coordination and execution of official and unofficial visits, talent evaluation processes, and recruiting operations both on-and off-campus.

Before arriving at South Carolina State, Abbott served as the Director of On-Campus Recruiting and Administrative Operations for the UMass Football program, where she managed all on-campus recruiting events, oversaw team operations and logistics, and executed administrative tasks and projects.

Her professional background also includes a role as Community Relations and Social Media Coordinator for her hometown professional baseball team, the High Point Rockers.

Abbott holds a master's degree in Sport Management from Coastal Carolina University, where she also served as a fitness graduate assistant and interned with Coastal Carolina Football in player personnel and operations.

She earned her bachelor's degree in Sport Management from Western Michigan University, with a double minor in Event Management and General Business.

A former student-athlete, Abbott competed on the Western Michigan University gymnastics team and served as a student assistant coach her senior year. Abbott was recognized as a recipient of the NCAA Ethnic Minority Graduate Scholarship and served as the Athletic Administrative and Diversity Intern for the WMU athletics department in 2022.

The Bulldogs won the 2024 MEAC Football Championship title in Coach Berry's first season in Orangeburg, South Carolina. In preparation for the upcoming season, the football team has made several coaching changes to set itself up for a chance to repeat as champions.

Coach Berry is focused on returning his squad to the Celebration Bowl with hopes of hoisting the game's trophy and winning the 2025 HBCU Division I Football National Championship.

ABOUT SC STATE ATHLETICS

South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.