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STARKVILLE, MS – NOVEMBER 5: Head coach Kevin Sumlin of the Texas A&M Aggies reacts to a call during the first half of an NCAA college football game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images
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Kevin Sumlin, Herm Edwards to duel in the desert

This isn’t the first time black coaches will lead rival Division I football programs

@andscape
Topics:
Herm Edwards Kevin Sumlin College Football

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    7:58 PMTwitter asked, and we answered.

    Former Texas A&M football coach Kevin Sumlin is the new coach at Arizona. Sumlin, who was fired last November after compiling a 51-26 record with the Aggies, replaces Rich Rodriguez. The Wildcats dismissed Rodriguez amid a sexual harassment investigation.

    Sumlin’s hiring means black coaches will lead Arizona and rival Arizona State, which hired Herm Edwards in December. But have rival Division I football programs ever had black coaches at the same time? That was the question on Twitter.

    The answer is yes. With some help from Twitter and our friends at ESPN Stats & Info, we’ve determined it has happened at least five times previously in the Football Bowl Subdivision, including when Sumlin was at Texas A&M.

    Twitter gave us a head start on the list:

    Indeed, John Blake (Oklahoma) and Bob Simmons (Oklahoma State) were with the rival programs at the same time from 1996-98. Also making the list:

    2009-11: DeWayne Walker (New Mexico State) and Mike Locksley (New Mexico)

    2010-12: Joker Phillips (Kentucky) and Charlie Strong (Louisville)

    2014-16: Strong (Texas) and Sumlin (Texas A&M)

    2017: Willie Taggart (Oregon) and interim coach Cory Hall (Oregon State)

    Strong and Sumlin did not meet during their time in Texas. The traditional rivals have not played since 2011 after Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

    Sumlin brings the number of African-American coaches in the FBS to 13 out of 128 teams.

    The black coaches in FBS, including Sumlin:

    • James Franklin, Penn State
    • David Shaw, Stanford
    • Charlie Strong, South Florida
    • Willie Taggart, Florida State
    • Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
    • Dino Babers, Syracuse
    • Lovie Smith, Illinois
    • Frank Wilson, Texas, San Antonio
    • Scottie Montgomery, East Carolina
    • Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
    • Everett Withers, Texas State
    • Herm Edwards, Arizona State
    • Kevin Sumlin, Arizona