McCool coached 17 All-Americans at Delta State and helped develop several professional players, including Jack Gregory, an All-Pro defensive end with the New York Giants.
“Coach McCool always knew what to say and when to say it,” Ned Mitchell, a former Statesmen football player and past president of the Alumni Association, stated: “His halftime speeches were legendary. He got you so ready to play that you would run through a brick wall for him. He was always doing something to keep you focused on the task at hand, but not so serious that it wasn’t fun. I’m going to miss him.”
During McCool’s tenure, the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen enjoyed unparalleled successes on the field and in the classroom. McCool led the charge to reinstate women’s basketball at Delta State and watched as legendary head coach Margaret Wade directed the Lady Statesmen basketball team to three-straight national championships in the mid-70’s.
He was a major figure in the formation of the Gulf South Conference in 1971. Although the league was formed just prior to the 1971 football season, McCool pushed for championships to be declared in all sports during the initial year. At that time, the GSC was a 10-member league with universities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. Almost 40 years later, Delta State Athletics stands as the measure of success in the 15-team, six-state league with nine national titles and 38 conference championships.
After spending 25 years serving the Department of Athletics as a coach and administrator, McCool resigned as Director of Athletics in the spring of 1978. He went on to serve the University as Physical Plant Director for several more years.
McCool’s first coaching experience came in the Mississippi Junior College Conference as he served as an assistant coach at Itawamba Junior College and then as head coach at Northeast JC and Holmes JC. He gained national recognition when he was on the coaching staff of the National Junior College All-American game in Albuquerque, N.M., and the All-America High School games at Hershey, Pa., and Miami, Fla.
McCool played two seasons for legendary Ole Miss Coach Johnny Vaught from 1948-49 and also played baseball for the Rebels in 1949. He then transferred to Memphis State for the 1950 season before joining the United States Army during the Korean War. While in the service, he played one season for Ft. Jackson in South Carolina, a team which went 16-1 and lost to Carswell Air Force Base in the National Service Championship game. Following his time in the service, McCool transferred to Delta State. He would receive his bachelor’s degree in education from Delta State in 1952. Two-years later, he received his master’s degree in education from the University of Mississippi.
Prior to enrolling at Ole Miss, McCool was an outstanding prep player at Belzoni High School from 1944 to 1947.
McCool is a charter member of the Delta State Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1978, Delta State presented the long-time coach and administrator with the McHardy Service Award, and in 1997 the American Football Foundation presented McCool with the prestigious Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was a past member of the National Football Coaches Association, the National Athletic Directors Association, the Mississippi Education Association, the National Education Association, the Red Red Rose (Mississippi Chapter), Phi Delta Kappa and the Cleveland First Baptist Church.
McCool was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Bole of Shaw. The couple has three children, one daughter Memorie Naron of Cleveland, and two sons, Mike McCool of Jacksonville, Fla., and Scott McCool of Houston, Texas. The McCool’s are the grandparents of seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
