Courtesy of South Carolina State University
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Former South Carolina State University head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough has been named interim director of athletics at the South Carolina HBCU, President Alexander Conyers announced Thursday.
Pough will lead Bulldog athletics during the university’s national search for a new director of athletics.
Pough succeeds Dr. Nathan Cochran, who left the university to pursue other opportunities. Cochran was named vice president and director of athletics at SC State in December 2023.
“On behalf of the Bulldog family, I thank Dr. Cochran for his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Conyers said.
A two-time SC State graduate, Pough is a highly accomplished and respected figure in the realm of college football, having served as SC State’s head football coach for 22 years. He is the winningest head football coach in SC State history.
His remarkable tenure led the team to victory as three-time National MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Champions.
Pough ranks among the top coaches in the 53-year history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, as well as in the HBCU family. His record includes 15 winning campaigns, three MEAC Coach of the Year honors, two National Coach of the Year awards, and two national HBCU titles.
His teams captured three MEAC titles (2008, 2009 & 2021) outright, shared five others (2004, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2019), and made four trips to the prestigious FCS playoffs (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013).
Pough also briefly served as interim athletics director in late 2023.
About Buddy Pough
Oliver “Buddy” Pough is the All-Time winning coach in South Carolina State University history. He wrapped up his 21st season as head football coach at South Carolina State, his alma mater, and is the All-Time Winningest Coach in School History. During his 21-year tenure at the school where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s, as well as All-MEAC honors as an offensive lineman, Pough has compiled an overall record of 146-87 and a 112-42 MEAC worksheet.
His teams captured three MEAC titles (2021,2008 & 2009) outright, shared five others (2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2019), and made four trips to the prestigious FCS playoffs (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013). Pough captured his first Celebration Bowl Championship in 2021 knocking off top-ranked Jackson State to win his fifth (5th) HBCU National Crown.