The University of Mississippi Athletics
The Tradition Continues
10/24/2005 | Athletics
Oct. 24, 2005
What do an Atlanta businessman, a former president of the Mississippi Bar Association and the head tennis coach at Ole Miss have in common? They are all part of the great athletic tradition at the University of Mississippi and are all being honored this year for their excellence in playing or coaching at Ole Miss.
Andre Townsend will be recognized as one of the Southeastern Conference's Legends of Football at this year's SEC Championship football game, while Raymond Brown and Billy Chadwick will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Each year since 1994 the Southeastern Conference has selected a former player or coach to represent each of the league's 12 teams as Legends of SEC Football. The 12-member classes are honored at the end of each football season at the SEC Championship game.
Entering this realm of greatness in 2005 is former defensive lineman Andre Townsend. The native of Aberdeen, Miss., was a standout defensive tackle for the Rebels from 1981-83. He was selected third team All-America by The Football News his senior season and was a two-time second team All-SEC selection during his career.
"This is an honor and very humbling," Townsend said about being named an SEC Legend. "It definitely caught me by surprise."
Townsend was a co-captain for the Rebels in 1983 when he tallied 111 tackles, including a team-high nine QB sacks.
Townsend followed up his stellar collegiate career with an even more impressive professional one. After being drafted in the second round (46th overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft, he played seven seasons (1984-90) with the Denver Broncos, helping the team to three Super Bowls in four years from 1987-90. Townsend finished his playing days with 22 career NFL sacks.
Though no longer playing football, Townsend's motor has not stopped as he has been involved in several entrepreneurial endeavors since retiring from football. Townsend was the founder and owner of an Atlantabased trucking company from 1994-2003. In recent years he has been involved in trading stocks and is currently working on a project to market his musically talented nephew.
For his work on the football field and in the community, Andre Townsend has indeed earned the status of one of the Legends of SEC Football.
A native of Greenville, Miss., Raymond Brown was an All-SEC player on some of the best teams in Ole Miss history. He played quarterback, defensive back and punter from 1955-57, and the Rebels had 26 wins, five losses and a tie during that span.
But Brown's athletic career almost never happened.
As a young boy, Brown fell from a wagon, and doctors said it was doubtful he would ever walk again. His leg healed, however, and he went on to accomplish many things, both on the gridiron and in the community.
Brown's shining moment as a Rebel came in the 1958 Sugar Bowl against the Texas Longhorns. With the Rebels ahead 26-7 in the fourth quarter, Texas had pinned Ole Miss deep in its own territory, and Brown was back in their own end zone to punt. Texas got penetration on the play, and Brown chose to run instead of punt. Ninety-two yards and six points later, he had run for the longest play from scrimmage in Ole Miss history. It still ranks as the second-longest run all-time.
Brown followed up his stellar Rebel career by being drafted in the fifth round (50th overall pick) and spending three years with the Baltimore Colts. In his NFL career, Brown intercepted 13 passes as a defensive back and also played quarterback and punter for the Colts. He was the only rookie starter in the 1958 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants in which the Colts defeated the Giants 23-17 in overtime.
Upon his retirement from the NFL, Brown returned to Mississippi and earned his law degree from Ole Miss in 1962. Since then he has had a distinguished legal career in which he has been the youngest president of the Mississippi Bar Association (1978-79) and served as president of several other legal organizations around Mississippi and the surrounding states.
"It certainly is awesome to me that what I did as a collegian and a pro would be remembered after all these years," Brown said. "In my era, football was such a different game and the paltry stats we put up then do not even compare to those today. It never occurred to me that I would get into a hall of fame after all these years and so many great players and legends that have come since I played."
Already a member of the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame (1988) and the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame (2000), Brown will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
With championships come awards, and no one knows that better than Ole Miss head tennis coach Billy Chadwick. Entering his 27th year with Ole Miss, which is the longest term ever for a Rebel head coach in any sport, Chadwick has led the men's tennis program to four SEC Championship titles, including back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005.
"It is a great honor to be among all the great athletes and coaches that are in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame," Chadwick said. "Being a Mississippi native, it is particularly meaningful and gives me a real sense of pride for my state. Mississippi may be the best state in the country in terms of success in sports.
"The most important thing, though, is the additional exposure our program will get because of this. I have already seen more interest in the program in the last few months, and our success just continues reaching out to more people."
Chadwick is a two-time recipient of SEC Coach of the Year (1996 and 2004) and is the dean of SEC tennis coaches.
The Jackson, Miss., native, who was a standout player at Wingfield High School and Belhaven College, has built an elite national program that has finished in the top five in the nation six times in the last 10 years.
Under Chadwick, the Rebel tennis program has collected 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen 11 times, the Elite Eight seven times and the Final Four on four occasions, including the NCAA Finals in 1995.
A master recruiter, Chadwick has brought in star players from a variety of backgrounds and countries, and meshed them into championship teams. Among Ole Miss' individual accomplishments under Chadwick are 44 All-SEC players, 17 All-Americans, 18 Academic All-Americans, six SEC individual champions and five players who have ascended to the No. 1 national ranking during their time at Ole Miss.
As the Rebels continue to win, Chadwick continues to reap the benefits. Already a member of the Belhaven College Hall of Fame (2000), Chadwick will enter the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and is a sure bet to become a member of the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame when he retires.