Clark Atlanta University football has a new leader who is a familiar face in the SIAC.
Former Allen University head coach Teddy Keaton has been named the next head coach at Clark Atlanta University.
Keaton will fill the role vacated when CAU fired SIAC football legend Willie Slater back in August.
“We are thrilled to have Coach Teddy Keaton join Clark Atlanta University as the new head coach of the Panthers football program,” said President George T. French, Jr., Ph.D. “His experience and success in the SIAC make him an ideal fit for our university. We are confident that Coach Keaton’s leadership will take the Panthers to new heights. We are excited for the future of our football program under his guidance.”
No stranger to the SIAC, Keaton has spent the bulk of his career at start-up/fledgling programs in the league. He began his career at Stillman College as a graduate assistant in 1999 as the program was relaunched. He spent five years there before jumping to the professional ranks in arena leagues. After spending a couple of years at Webber International, an NAIA program, Keaton was named head coach at his alma mater.
Keaton led Stillman to a 7-4 record and a tie for the SIAC West Division in his inaugural season. He would go on to record three consecutive winning seasons at Stillman to start his tenure. His teams went 27-26 overall as the program was eventually shut down and the school moved its athletic affiliation to NAIA.
Keaton would spend two seasons as running backs coach at Miles College before being hired as head coach at Allen University as the school planned to restart football.
He arrived at Allen on Jan. 8, 2018 with no home field and no practice field as the program started in the NAIA with the goal of moving up to Division II. Despite those challenges, the program increased its win totals in each season, winning two games in 2018, three in 2019 and four in 2021 as the program joined the SIAC as a provisional member.
The program fell to 2-8 in 2022 but bounced back in a major way in 2023. Allen went 7-3 in 2023, including a 35-27 win over CAU.
To say Clark Atlanta University football has struggled is an understatement. It has not recorded a winning record since 2008 when it went 6-5. CAU has not won an SIAC title since 1991 when it shared with four other programs, including Morehouse College.