Former Florida State legend Charlie Ward is set to return to college sports, only this time as the new head basketball coach at FAMU.
Ward, 54, was a star and history-maker for the Seminoles.
He led the team to a National Championship title in the 1993 season, the first national championship in program history. Ward also became the second Black quarterback in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy (Andre Ware, 1989) and won every award he was eligible for that season, including the Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards, the Walter Camp Player of the Year and Toyota Leader of the Year.
Ward is also the second college football player in history to win the Sullivan Award, given annually to top amateur athlete in the country.
Yet despite all of the football accolades, Ward chose professional basketball over the NFL. He was drafted by the Knicks in the 1994 NBA Draft and played with the team for 10 years before playing with the Spurs and Rockets.
He retired after the 2004-05 season and became a basketball coach, first with the Rockets and then as a high school coach in Tallahassee, FL and with USA basketball.
Now he heads back to college as the latest former pro athlete to lead an HBCU program, joining Deion Sanders, Eddie George, Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson. And he’s the latest former NBA player to lead a D1 HBCU program, joining Jackson State head coach Mo Williams.
Ward has a tough task ahead of him as he inherits a 14-17 program whose last winning season came in 2006-07, which is also the last time the Rattlers made the NCAA Tournament.
But Ward is well-known in the area and knows the Florida recruiting scene, especially in the Tallahassee area, so he has a recognition advantage in the recruiting wars.
