The event will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at the Doubletree Hotel in Birmingham, Ala.

Of his achievements, Weathersby was the athletic director at Mississippi Valley State when the university moved to Division I in all its sports but football.

“It means a lot when your peers recognize you for the services you rendered,” said Weathersby, 80. “As I look back over my career and the contributions I made to the conference and when I was playing, I’m real proud someone thinks enough of me to consider me for the Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Weathersby, a Liberty native, graduated from Amite County Training School and went on to play college football for then-Alcorn A&M where he was a standout on the offensive and defensive lines.

Upon graduation, Weathersby spent the next 15 years (1955-70) molding student-athletes for Coleman High in Greenville. He led Coleman to six North Zone Big 8 championships, four Big 8 (state) championships and a Delta Bowl championship. He compiled a record of 112-26-6 and his teams were undefeated in 1957 and 1967.

Weathersby also coached the girls track to two Big 8 titles and three Magnolia State Class AA championships when the state’s two high school associations were still segregated.

Also while Weathersby was AD, Coleman won four state championships and seven Big 8 titles in girls basketball; the boys basketball team won a state, Big 8 and national high school championship; and the boys track team won five Big 8 titles and three Magnolia State championships.

Weathersby’s next journey led him to Mississippi Valley State where he was the football team’s defensive backs coach. But less than a month away from the season opener he was promoted to head coach after the head coach left for Texas Southern.

“They just had a strike at Mississippi Valley State and a lot of kids were sent home,” Weathersby said. “A lot of football players got sent home, so the program was just in shambles. We had about 40 walk-ons and that first year we won one ball game.”

Weathersby was head coach from 1970-77 and finished with a 33-45 record. He was named SWAC Co-Coach of the Year in 1975 after the Delta Devils had their best season in school history at 6-4 (3-3 SWAC). He was also named the SWAC Coach of the Year by the National Black Sports Foundation. That season five players were named to the All-America teams.

Weathersby was named the AD in his second year at MVSU, and he led the school’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II and then to NCAA Division I in 1974.

“All the teams in our conference, they were moving up to Division 1-AA,” Weathersby said. “It was important because at the time you had to have so many teams to qualify for the playoffs. And so to be considered if you had an outstanding year, you had to have enough in that division.”

Weathersby was later inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2003.

While Weathersby had several players go on to the pros, he’s even more proud of the quality men he was able to impact. From doctors and lawyers to Columbus mayor Robert Smith and minister Charles Jackson, whose son Gabe was named All-SEC as an offensive lineman at Mississippi State this week, Weathersby hopes he made a bigger impact than just in sports.

“I told them education comes first and everything else after,” he said. “We emphasized hard work, we emphasized togetherness, and we always told our kids they need a religious faith. We tried to instill in youngsters something that would be with them for a lifetime and help make a difference in their lives.”

Weathersby still keeps up with the SWAC, particularly Alcorn and MVSU. He said both football teams made progression this year. He also noted the two programs, as well as Greenville-Weston’s high school football program need the same support he had when he coached.

“You can’t have a successful program if coaches change all the time,” he said. “I’m also disappointed with the support of the community (for Greenville-Weston). When I was coaching, the community supported us. They expected a lot from the kids and they responded. If you support them the kids will respond. If you don’t support them they don’t respond like they should.

“I’d like to see all the kids playing together (all races). We’d have a better ball club if we had all the kids in the community at one big high school playing together.”

Joining Weathersby in receiving this award are: Betty Austin, Alabama A&M Director of Athletics and volleyball coach; Jay Roberson, Alabama A&M quarterback and SWAC administrator; and Dr. Edward B. Evans Sr., Prairie View A&M President and SWAC founder (posthumously).