University of Connecticut Athletics
Norries Wilson Chosen For NCAA Expert Coaching Program
6/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 1, 2004
STORRS, CONN. - University of Connecticut football offensive coordinator Norries Wilson has been selected to participate in the NCAA Expert Coaching Program, June 1-3 in Indianapolis. Wilson, who has been a member of head coach Randy Edsall’s staff for the duration of his five-year tenure at UConn, is one of only 12 coaches chosen for the event, which is run by the NCAA with support from the American Football Coaches Association, the Black Coaches Association and the National Football League. The event runs in conjunction with the annual BCA Convention, which will be held later this week in Indianapolis.
The Coaches Academy is an NCAA initiative created to address the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of football. Of the current 117 Division I-A head football coaches, five are African-American and two are Hispanic. Only three percent of head coaches in all NCAA Divisions are ethnic minorities, excluding the historically black colleges and universities.
The Expert Coaching Program was created for ethnic minority football coaches with at least six years of experience. The mission of the Expert Coaching Program is to teach and reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in NCAA head coaching positions at the Division I-A level; and to provide participants with an experience that emphasizes the importance of skill enhancement, networking and exposure to key stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics. NCAA athletics administrators, football coaches, and business and communications officials will present during the three-day program. Workshop topics will include: new and innovative approaches to coaching; developing and strengthening relationships with student-athletes; cutting-edge game strategies; game-day coaching skills; and off-the-field concerns.
"I think this is great for Norries and for this program that he has been recognized for being the outstanding coach and person that he is," Edsall says. "This excellent program that the NCAA, AFCA, BCA and NFL have all combined to put together will help him greatly in his career goal to become a head coach, in addition to benefiting our team. This will further his development and bring him closer to that goal of becoming a Division I-A head coach. I was very proud to hear that he was selected for this."
This past fall, in his role as offensive coordinator and centers and guards coach, Wilson helped guide the Huskies to one of the finest offensive seasons in school history. UConn’s balanced attack finished the season ranked eighth in the nation in total offense, averaging 477.5 yards per game. The Huskies also checked in to the NCAA leaders in passing offense (10th) and scoring offense (17th) en route to posting a 9-3 record during just the program’s second official season at the Division I-A level. UConn’s offensive line, meanwhile, ranked third in the nation by yielding just 10 sacks. In the fall of 2002, his first as UConn’s offensive coordinator, Terry Caulley was the nation’s leading freshman rusher, gaining 1,247 yards on the ground. Those 2002 Huskies gained an additional 112.9 yards per game in total offense and 13.6 points per game as compared to their 2001 counterparts when Wilson was not the offensive coordinator. Wilson coached the UConn offensive line in each of Edsall’s first three seasons at the Husky helm (1999-2001). He previously worked as an assistant coach at Bucknell, Livingstone College, North Carolina Central and his alma mater, Minnesota. Wilson played football and wrestled at UM, captaining the Gophers’ 1986 Liberty Bowl team and qualifying for the NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight.
Wilson is the only coach from a BIG EAST school selected for the event and one of only three in the north east region. The other 11 participants, in addition to Wilson, are: Ronald English (Michigan), Albert Preston (Notre Dame), Mark Gale (Marshall), Rodney Gardner (Georgia), David Kelly (Duke), Vantz Singletary (Hawaii), Donald Thompson (Illinois), Charles Bankins (Hampton), James Reese III (Tennessee State), James Salgado (Northeastern) and William Lund (Colby College).
