Bill Text: VA SJR249 | 2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Joe Taylor.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ249ER) [SJR249 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SJR249-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Joe Taylor, a highly admired football coach and the current athletic director of Virginia Union University, was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 22, 2020; and
WHEREAS, an icon of the sport, Joe Taylor has won four national college football championships, 14 conference championships, and seven bowl games, and has an overall record of 233–96–4; and
WHEREAS, Joe Taylor graduated from Western Illinois University, where he played offensive line, and subsequently began his coaching career at H.D. Woodson High School in his hometown of Washington, D.C., from 1972 to 1977; and
WHEREAS, Joe Taylor helped lead the Eastern Illinois University football team to the 1978 NCAA Division II championship as an assistant coach, then joined Virginia Union University as an offensive coordinator the following year; and
WHEREAS, Joe Taylor coached at Howard University in 1983, but returned to Virginia Union University as head coach; he helped the Virginia Union University Panthers compile a 60–19–3 record from 1984 to 1991; and
WHEREAS, Joe Taylor coached the Hampton University Pirates to a 136–49–1 record between 1992 and 2007, then finished his coaching career with the Florida A & M Rattlers from 2008 to 2012; upon his retirement, he ranked third in wins among coaches at historically black colleges and universities; and
WHEREAS, a former president of the American Football Coaches Association, Joe Taylor also served on the advisory board of the Black Coaches Association, receiving many lifetime achievement awards and was previously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2019; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Joe Taylor on his induction into the Black College Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Joe Taylor as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his contributions to generations of Virginia Union University students and his legacy of excellence in college athletics.
