Marino Casem

Bio

Known as the "The Godfather, " Marino Casem's coaching career began as an excuse to visit his girlfriend. His fiancée had a job at Utica (MS) Junior College and Casem traveled from his Memphis home to Mississippi to interview for a coaching position simply as a reason to see his future wife. He got the job, and after a stint in the military returned to coaching as the head coach at Alabama State. After one season he moved to Alcorn State where he coached for 22 seasons. With the Braves, he won seven Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships. In 1968, he won the first of back-to-back Black College National Championships. He added a third crown with a national title in 1974 and yet another in 1984. The 1984 team finished the regular season as the top team in all of Division I-AA (FCS) football. He resigned from Alcorn to accept the job as Athletic Director at Southern. In 1987 and 1988 he doubled as the school's head coach and was interim coach in 1992. As an administrator, he guided Southern to become the top overall program in the conference winning numerous all-sport championships. Throughout his career he served on many national committees including the NCAA Football Rules, and the NCAA Executive Committee.