Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are becoming the norm for Oree Banks.
The Newton native who already is a member of the halls of fame with Coahoma Community College, the Mississippi Community College, NAIA and West Virginia State is now a part of the South Carolina State Hall of Fame.
The reason why he has been honored with some many inductions is due to the success that he had at every stop along the way. As head coach at Coahoma Community College, he won or tied for the state championship each of his four years.
Then after working with legendary coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling, Banks landed the head coaching job at South Carolina State in 1965 and compiled a 34-9 record in his first five seasons, finishing with a 44-27-2 record in his eight-year stint and sending several players to the NFL.
Then after serving as an assistant coach at Wisconsin and at South Carolina under Paul Dietzel where Banks was the first African American full-time coach in school history, Banks finished his head coaching career at West Virginia State, where led the Yellow Jackets to their first winning season in nearly a decade. In 1983, he became only the third African American coach to be named to American Football Coaches Association board of trustees.
“It’s such an honor to be recognized by so many different organizations,” Banks said. “I had no idea that I’d be inducted into so many different halls of fame. I was always ambitious and tried to do my best and to do the right thing. My parents pushed me hard.”
As a coach, Banks believed in discipline. He especially made sure that his players got their education. That was just as important to him as it was winning on the field.
“I’m a firm believer that the No. 1 goal is getting a degree,” Banks said. “I benched my starting quarterback one week just because he didn’t go to class that week. If you played for me, I was going to make sure you got a degree.”
One of the highlights of Banks’ career was coaching with Robinson at Grambling. He lured Banks away from Coahoma where he experienced a lot of success.
“Coaching for Eddie Robinson was one of the best experiences in my life,” Banks said. “We sent a lot of good players to the pros during my time there. And he really helped me move up the coaching ladder. It was a great experience getting to play for him.”
One area that he still sees that college football needs to improve on is giving opportunities to African American coaches.
“I’m concerned at the number of African American head coaches we have in college football,” Banks said. “I hope that those in leadership positions will give more black coaches a chance to succeed in the business.”
Banks is father of two successful children. His daughter completed her four-year degree at Ohio State and is a doctor in the D.C. area. His son is a graduate of Yale, received his master’s at M.I.T. and has a great job working with a pharmaceutical company.
Since his retirement from coaching, Banks has traveled across the country performing his drug prevention program to colleges and high schools across the country.
Banks knows that his success wouldn’t have happened without all of the assistant coaches.
“I’ve had a great group of coaches who have helped me out over the years,” Banks said.
