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Fisher DeBerry Announces Retirement as Head Coach at Air Force
DeBerry has guided the Falcons to 17 winning seasons since taking over in 1984.
Dec. 15, 2006 Statement from MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force head football coach Fisher DeBerry announced his retirement today, ending over a quarter-century at the Air Force Academy.
DeBerry just completed his 23rd season as the head football coach and 27th overall at Air Force. DeBerry has guided the Falcons to 17 winning seasons since taking over in 1984. He's guided the Academy to three conference championships. Air Force won the Western Athletic Conference title in 1985 and again in 1995. In 1998, DeBerry guided the team to its first out-right title and a championship game win over Brigham Young. His 1998 team matched the school record with a 12-1 season while earning him his third coach of the year award.
The Cheraw, S.C., native has done it all at Air Force. He is the winningest coach in school history with a 169-107-1 mark. He stands second in Mountain West Conference history in career wins with 100, trailing only close friend and former BYU coach LaVell Edwards. He has also beaten Notre Dame three times, including a 20-17 overtime thriller against the eighth-ranked Irish in South Bend in 1996.
DeBerry has dominated service academy football. In 1999, DeBerry became the winningest coach in service academy football history when AFA knocked off Washington in Seattle. He is an amazing 35-11 against Army and Navy in his career and has led the Academy to 14 of its 16 Commander-in-Chief's trophy titles.
DeBerry is a 1960 graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where he lettered in football and baseball. After six years of coaching and teaching in the South Carolina high school ranks, DeBerry returned to Wofford, where he stayed two years as an assistant when the school won 21 consecutive games and was ranked No. 1 nationally. It was during a nine-year stop at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., where his work with the option offense began to blossom. Appalachian State ranked in the top 10 nationally three times (1975, `78, `79) in rushing, total offense or scoring offense under DeBerry.
Former Air Force head coach Ken Hatfield hired DeBerry in 1980 as the quarterbacks coach at Air Force. DeBerry was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1981. When Hatfield left Air Force after the 1983 season, DeBerry became the school's fifth head coach.
DeBerry and his wife, LuAnn, are active in community affairs. The coach gives motivational speeches and has worked tireless with several local and national charities. The couple started the Fisher DeBerry Foundation recently which is an organization to benefit single-parent families in Colorado Springs. DeBerry is also active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in 2001 authored a book "For God and Country" of which the proceeds go to the FCA.
The coach has received several regional and national awards for his work off the field. He has been honored with the State Farm Coach of Distinction Award for his efforts on and off the field in 2001. This past summer, DeBerry was selected for induction into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
STATEMENT FROM FISHER DEBERRY
Coaching is the best job a guy could have, but it is a very demanding and time consuming job. My kids and grandkids have moved to Oklahoma. It is time for Lu Ann and me to spend some quality time together and with them. We passionately love the Academy and consider it an honor and a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve here and carry the title "Coach."
We respect the military so much and the mission of the Academy and I have felt football is one of the most important leadership training opportunities here. We have been blessed and privileged to have had the opportunity to coach the finest young people in America and work daily with the best coaches in NCAA football. Nobody in life does anything by themselves and any success we have enjoyed is the direct result of a tremendous commitment on the part of so many; the players, coaches, secretary, support staff and administration.
Therefore, this is the hardest decision I have ever made in my life. I love my players and my coaches. I will always be grateful to former Superintendent Gen. Skip Scott and former Athletic Director John Clune for their confidence and the opportunity they gave me 23 years ago to live my dream.
It's been a good ride and I thank from the bottom of my heart all my players and my fellow coaches over my tenure for their commitment to excellence and high expectations. I especially want to thank the best secretary in NCAA football for 25 years of loyal and faithful service to the football program.
In conclusion, I want to thank my loving wife of 41 years, Lu Ann, for her understanding loving support and commitment and for putting up with late suppers. Thank you, Baby, for your love and support. Also, thank my two children, Joe and Michelle, for their support during this ride. Without their love, I wouldn't be standing here today. No question, Lu Ann has been the Head Coach and we have been a good team.
Finally, I want to thank my Master Coach for leading us to Colorado 26 years ago. I pray we have made a difference in the lives of the ones who have been entrusted to us and I hope we have honored Him in all we have tried to do. We love Colorado and especially Colorado Springs and the wonderful friends we have made. I hope Lu Ann and I can continue to be of service to others in this community.
As I have always said to others departing the program, `Once a Falcon, Always a Falcon." My heart and prayers will always be with the Fighting Falcons. Thanks to all for the privilege and opportunity to have been able to serve the finest educational institution in the country and the finest kids in the world. Thanks to this community and Denver, some of the greatest football fans in the nation, for your support over the years. When I came to the Academy, a good crowd was between 15, 000 and 18,000. Today we have averaged well over 40,000 during my career here.
To you, the press, I have enjoyed working with you and proud to call you friends. Thanks for the positive things you write about our athletes and the total athletic program here at the Academy.
Lu Ann and I are so humbled, honored and thankful for the opportunity and are excited now to see what God's plan is for our future. Thank you and have a great day.
STATEMENT FROM ATHLETIC DIRECTOR DR. HANS MUEH
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