COLUMBIA, SC. (THECOUNT) — Willie Washington, the longtime Benedict College athletic director and former Tigers basketball coach who helped guide the school through major changes in its athletic program, has died.
Washington joined Benedict in 1988 as the Tigers’ basketball coach and assistant athletic director before eventually becoming the school’s athletic director. During his tenure, he played a major role in the growth and development of Benedict athletics.
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As a basketball coach, Washington never experienced a losing season at Benedict. The Tigers reached the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament four times under his leadership, and he was named Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year eight times.
Washington was inducted into the EIAC Hall of Fame in 1998. Benedict later inducted him into its own Hall of Fame as a coach in 2004.
Washington’s accomplishments extended beyond the basketball court. As athletic director, he led Benedict to six EIAC Commissioner’s Cups, which recognize the conference’s top overall athletic programs.
In 1999, Washington was named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Southeast Region Athletic Director of the Year.
He also oversaw the return of football to Benedict and helped guide the school through its transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II competition. Benedict subsequently became a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Washington’s influence extended beyond Benedict. He served on numerous NCAA boards, councils and committees during his career and was recognized in 2012 with the Presidential Citation Civic Leadership Award from the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.
Before arriving at Benedict, Washington spent 12 years at Allen University, where he coached basketball and served as athletic director.
Washington was an Arkansas native and attended Tougaloo College in Mississippi, where he played basketball and served as a co-captain. He graduated from Tougaloo in 1974 and later played professional basketball in Belgium.
Washington’s exact age and date of birth were not listed in the official biographies, news reports or Hall of Fame profiles provided for this report. Accordingly, his age is not being reported.
His career at Benedict spanned decades and included leadership during significant changes in collegiate athletics, from the restoration of football to the institution’s move into NCAA Division II competition.
Via benedicttigers.com:
In 1988, Willie Washington arrived on the campus of Benedict College as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director. Washington had spent the previous twelve years as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Athletic Director across the street at Allen University. After building a successful basketball program at Allen University it was time to turn his attention to revamping the Benedict College program.
Under his leadership, the Tigers were the scourge of the EIAC, winning six Commissioner’s Cups, the hallmark of excellence for the school with the best athletic program. Benedict won six out of seven during their stay in the EIAC since the inauguration of the award.
Washington was named the 1999 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Southeast Region Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. During his tenure as basketball coach, the Benedict College team never had a losing season. He reached the 200 win-plateau during the 1997-98 season and guided the Tigers to the NAIA national tournament four times during the ’90s. He was named the winner of eight EIAC Coach of the Year awards and was inducted into the EIAC Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2004 in the coaching category, Washington was inducted into the Benedict College Hall of Fame.
Washington, who performed well in both roles, winning nine straight Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships (EIAC) and expanding the athletic program from 8 to 14 sports including the return of football, realized that the growth of the athletic department demanded his full attention. After 11 years of wearing two hats, that of Men’s Basketball Coach and Athletic Director, Mr. Washington is entering his 28th year as Athletic Director. After 10 years of dominating the EIAC in all sports, under Coach Washington’s leadership Benedict returned to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), competing in Division II, and a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
Under Washington’s leadership, Benedict College served as the host institution for the 2003-2004 SIAC Spring Sports Championships.
In 2010 the Athletic Department won the NCAA Division II National Community Engagement Award of Excellence. Benedict won the SIAC Commissioner’s Men’s All-Sports Award for the 2011-12 season, the first SIAC all-sports award for the Tigers. Benedict won the SIAC Commissioner’s All-Sports Award for both men’s and women’s sports for the 2014-15 school year, becoming the first conference school to win both awards in the same year. Benedict repeated as winner of the men’s and women’s All-Sports Awards for the 2015-16 school year.
Under Washington’s leadership, the overall grade point average of the entire student-athlete population has increased to 3.0 and Benedict had its first two Academic All-Americans in 2015 and a third in 2017.
The 2015-16 season was especially successful for the Tigers. Benedict won five SIAC championships and had seven teams compete in NCAA regional or national events. Benedict also had three student-athletes named All-American. He has also been instrumental in Benedict receiving grants from the NCAA to help student-athletes complete their degrees as well as a Choices Grant to help with alcohol education.
Washington is a graduate of Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance and received a Masters Degree from Jackson State University. In college, Washington was co-captain of the basketball team during his junior and senior years, another testimony to his leadership abilities. After college he played in the European Professional Basketball League with the Carlos Basketball Club in Brussels, Belgium. He is married to the former Genoise Gaylor and they are the parents of four children: Willie, a 2002 Benedict Alumni and Jurist Doc graduate from Michigan State; Gerard, a 2006 Benedict graduate and Recreation Leader for Richland County Recreation Center; Chad also a Benedict graduate who played football and track and field, completed graduate school at Grambling University in the area of sports administration and is the Director of Athletics at Allen University; and Kimberly, the youngest, graduated from the University of South Carolina and attends Tennessee State University, where she is working on a Master’s Degree in speech pathology.
Currently, Washington serves on a number of athletic committees, boards and foundations. Washington served on the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee, and is a former member on the NCAA Division II Management Council, Chairman of the SIAC Athletic Director Committee, the NCAA Honors Committee, and the NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In recognition of his dedicated service in the advancement of youth in our community, the S.C. State Conference of the NAACP awarded Coach Washington the Presidential Citation Civic Leadership Award in 2012.
Washington also serves as Chairman of the Board of Laurinburg Institute, an historic African American preparatory school in Laurinburg, North Carolina. He was inducted into the Laurinburg Hall of Fame in 2016.
A cause of death was not provided.
Columbia is the capital and largest city of South Carolina and is located in Richland County in the central part of the state. Benedict College is located in Columbia, where Washington spent much of his career leading the school’s athletic programs.
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