Legendary coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough reflects on SC State legacy, life impact
The Bulldog Legacy Series: 130 Years of SC State
Pough: "I'll always be doing something here"
Video: A conversation with iconic former SC State football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Oliver “Buddy” Pough is an award-winning former football coach whose staunch work ethic can be traced back to lessons he learned at his beloved alma mater, which will celebrate its 130th anniversary this year.
Pough, who currently serves as interim athletics director at South Carolina State University, is also the all-time winningest football coach in school history.
The legend set many milestones during a 21-year head coaching tenure at the university, where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, as well as All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) honors as an offensive lineman.
Over his career, Pough compiled an overall record of 151-93 and a 115-44 MEAC record. The four-time MEAC Coach of the Year won three MEAC titles outright, shared five others and made four trips to the prestigious Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Pough captured his first Celebration Bowl championship in 2021 by defeating top-ranked Jackson State to win his fifth HBCU national crown.
Those were among the moments that he said helped shape his legendary career at the university, but success has meant more to him than winning games and earning awards.
“There are many other things that go into the success of a program. The young people that you somehow or another become associated with. They go out and do stuff afterward. It’s the things that they go back home and into the world and do. All that is part of our scoreboard,” Pough said.
Built on mentorship
Pough said coaching at an HBCU like SC State had its advantages.
“I may not have been able to have an opportunity before Coach Jeffries to be a coach anywhere but an HBCU. Now, I have a chance to have been a coach anywhere, but it was a lot of fun having an opportunity to be in some of the places I’ve been as a football coach over the years,” he said.
Pough continued: “I coached in high schools. I was a head high school coach for a good many years. I coached in the Southeastern Conference, which is probably the leading conference in the history of college athletics.”
“Then, of course, you have the opportunity to come back to SC State and coach here. We all have the opportunity to do things,” he said.
He referenced individuals who had once coached at SC State and have gone on to other fruitful careers, including Joel Taylor, head football coach at Mercer University; Tony Elliott, head football coach at the University of Virginia; and Billy Napier, who serves as head football coach at James Madison University.
“Then you look at all the guys that are strength and conditioning head coaches, including Tory Becton, the head guy at the University of Texas’ strength and conditioning program. We’ve all had an opportunity to do great things because of what we did here at SC State,” Pough said.
He hopes the next generation of HBCU football coaches will build on the foundations that he and others have laid.
“I hope they observe and continue to build on what we’ve done. The one thing that we’ve got here at South Carolina State is a great start on the next generation of what we can be going forward,” Pough said.
“I think that the program here has taken a turn for the better. I see some things that we’ve been able to do for (current SC State head football coach Chennis Berry) that we didn’t have the opportunity to do back in our day. They’ve got resources that we didn’t have … So I look forward to seeing what kind of opportunities they can have,” he said.
Doing more with less
Pough, who was born in 1953, is proud that the university will be celebrating 130 years this year.
“It’s hard to fathom. When I say that, I think about the Class of 1975. We all were born somewhere in the 1950s, which was only about 50 years after the actual origination of this university,” he said.
Pough continued: “This group of folk has lived over half of the existence of the university. To see it from where it was to where it is now, I think that we are awfully proud of some of the accomplishments and legacies of those who have graced its halls and dormitories.”
He referenced Jeffries and other notable SC State alumni, including U.S. Congressman Jim Clyburn and National Football League greats Harry Carson and Donnie Shell.
“All those folk had just wonderful opportunities to have a tremendous living from this university and its history,” Pough said.
He said the university has been through ups and downs in its history, including the threat of closure back in 2014, but has remained resilient in overcoming obstacles and helping create a new generation of leaders.
“I don’t know if we’re different from others. I think it’s just that we’ve been good at doing more with less. We’ve had many a year of not having enough to do anything, but we somehow figured out how to do everything,” Pough said.
“That’s just how we do things. I can tell you we’ve had some of the best recruiting classes that we’ve had at this university. You’re talking about Hall of Fame kind of guys on zero recruiting budgets. How do you make that happen?” he said.
“It’s not necessarily how much funds or resources you have sometimes because hard work will overcome anything,” Pough said.
His civic engagement includes his participation in the Orangeburg Touchdown Club and other local civic groups such as the Kiwanis Club. Pough said giving back to the community was just an extension of what he learned at SC State as a student and athlete.
“From the very beginning, I was always impressed by some of what our professors and people around campus were doing. I was raised during the civil rights era, and the faculty and staff were the main players in most of the leadership positions,” Pough said.
He continued: “That just kind of rubbed off on us in a way that you continue to want to get out and get involved in the community … So, I’ve always taken a lot of pride in going out and being part of this community and doing whatever I could to support it.”
Still part of SC State
Pough appreciates the opportunity that the university gave him to see what success looks like, including with mentors like Coach Jeffries. As interim athletics director, he said he will continue to serve the university as long as possible.
“I don’t think I’ll ever pull myself away from the university. I think I’ll always be doing something here. Whenever they run me off, I’m going to find me a little cubby hole some place where I can come and hang out from time to time,” he said, laughing. “I’ll be around here doing something.”
SC State will celebrate Founders Day on Sunday, March 1, 2025, at 4 p.m. in Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.