Neely, Jess C.
Football
b. Jan. 4, 1898, Smyrna, TN
d. April 9, 1983
Neely played end and halfback at Vanderbilt University from 1920 through 1922. As a senior, he captained the 1922 squad that won 8 and tied 1 without a loss.
Neely went to Southwestern College in Memphis, TN, in 1924 as athletic director and coach of all sports. He became baseball coach and end coach at the University of Alabama in 1928, before taking over as head football coach and athletic director at Clemson in 1931.
In nine seasons with Clemson, Neely had a 43-35-7 record. His 1939 team beat Boston College 6-3 in the Cotton Bowl. Neely went to Rice University in 1940 and spent 27 seasons there, compiling a record of 144 wins, 124 losses, and 10 ties. His Rice teams won 6 Southwestern Conference championships and they were 3-3 in bowl games.
Although he was known as a conservative coach who stressed a running attack, Neely developed an excellent passing team when he had quarterback Tobin Rote and end "Froggy" Williams. They led the 1949 team to a 9-1-0 regular season record and a 27-13 win over North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl.
Neely left coaching after the 1966 season to become athletic director at Vanderbilt. He retired from that position in 1970.