Haney Catchings
Encyclopedia
Haney Catchings is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. His career record was 16 wins, 39 losses, and 1 tie. His infamous career included a poor record, fraudulent expense reports, and accusations of preventing his athletes from pursuing academic studies.

Prairie View A&M

Catchings was the 16th head coach for the Prairie View A&M University Panthers
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...

 located in Prairie View, Texas
Prairie View, Texas
Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2000 census.Prairie View A&M University is located in the city.-Geography:Prairie View is located at ....

 and he held that position for four seasons, from 1986 until 1989. His coaching record at Prairie View was 8 wins, 25 losses, and 1 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him eighth at Prairie View in total wins and 14th at Prairie View in winning percentage (0.250). He only put together one team with a non-losing record, when his 1988 team finished 6-4--the once-proud program's first winning season in 13 years. However, the school subsequently forfeited one win over Southern due to an ineligible player.

Longest losing streak

Catchings' last two losses of the 1989 season were the start of an 80-game losing streak between 1989 and 1998—the longest in NCAA history.

Academic accusations

Catchings was accused of pressuring his players to abandon their studies in favor of football. According to multiple players, Catchings "withheld textbooks and financial aid until players proved themselves on the field. For some players, it was the middle of the semester before Catchings thought them worthy of getting their books. As a result, 43 players on the 55-man roster had grade point averages below the NCAA minimum of 2.0. The players demanded that Catchings be fired. When the administration was slow to act, the players boycotted the program.

Program suspension

Serious damage occurred to the program in 1989 when Catchings was charged with filing fraudulent expense reports. Due in part to the fraud, Prairie View opted not to field a team in 1990. In 1991, he pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges related to the scam. He was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay over $1,500 in fines and restitution.

Tuskegee University

Catchings later became the head coach at Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...

 in Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 11,846 and is designated a Micropolitan Statistical Area. Tuskegee has been an important site in various stages of African American history....

. He was the 14th head coach for the Golden Tigers and he held that position for two seasons, from 1994 until 1995. His coaching record at Tuskegee was 8 wins, 14 losses, and 0 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him 11th at Tuskegee in total wins and 13th at Tuskegee in winning percentage (.364).

External links

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