SALUTE TO VETERANS BOWL LEGEND: Former Prattville coach Clark officially added to list of bowl legends
By TIM GAYLE
Bill Clark, a trailblazer at Prattville High, Jacksonville State and UAB, was honored by the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at its Alabama Football Legends luncheon on Monday at the Renaissance Hotel.
“I’m not old enough for that,” Clark said. “I just keep telling people that.”
Clark is the 11th recipient of the award, joining Bobby Bowden (2014), Pat Dye (2015), Woodrow Lowe (2016), Gene Stallings (2017), Johnny Davis (2018), Larry Blakeney (2019), Woody McCorvey (2021), Chan Gailey (2022), Dr. James Andrews (2023) and Bobby Wallace (2024).
“It’s very humbling just to be considered with the legends that have already been here before me,” Clark said, “and in this area where I had so many fun years at Prattville and just think so much of the whole region.”
While he has served programs at the high school and collegiate level as an assistant coach, he is best known for his work as a head coach. At Prattville, he built up a struggling program into a statewide powerhouse, winning back-to-back state championships in 2006 and 2007 that included a 56-game regular season winning streak. His 106-11 record is the highest in Alabama High School Athletic Association history among coaches with 100 or more games.
Clark coached his alma mater, Jacksonville State, for just one season (2013) but the football program set 49 school records, 13 Ohio Valley Conference records and earned the first Football Championship Subdivision appearance in school history in that remarkable season.
At UAB, he was the head coach when the program was disbanded in 2014 and ressurrected in 2017. He’s the winningest coach in Blazer history at 49-26 and his 2017 team went 8-5 and earned the school its first bowl appearance.
When he stepped away from football in June, 2022 for medical reasons, he was already involved with Coach Safely, which he serves as president. The mission of the Coach Safely Foundation is to limit youth sports-related injuries through research, advocacy and education of coaches, parents, physical educators and other influential figures in the lives of young athletes.
“I’ve been involved with Coach Safely since Jack Crowe started it with Jimmy Andrews, around 2014,” Clark said. “In 2018, we got a law passed that requires youth coaches in the state of Alabama -- it’s the first one in the nation -- to have training. It trains them in safety. Our mantra is so they will play.
“We believe in sports. If you believe in what football and all sports teaches you, then we want them to come out. And how do we get them to come out? We keep them safe.”
Clark mentioned his coaching stops fondly in Monday’s speech that followed his acceptance of the award, but saved his best for last as he addressed the players of both Jacksonville State and Troy that are on hand for Tuesday night’s game at Cramton Bowl.
“Young men, you earned the right to play in this game,” Clark said. “You didn’t get here by accident. You earned it from early in the morning, hard practices, setbacks and sacrifices most will never see. I want you to know that the game will end but who you’ll become because of football -- and I truly believe this -- that lasts forever.
“This game has taught you how to handle adversity, have discipline and to be accountable. You now know how to respond to adversity, don’t you? To keep pushing, believing in yourself. Because we know wins are great, championships are special, but the greatest victories you’ll ever have don’t show up on the scoreboard. They’ll show up in how you treat people and how you lead when no one’s watching. Through trust, sacrifice and commitment, honor God and take care of your family.”