Mike McGee (American football)


Michael Burnette McGee was an American offensive guard in the National Football League who later became a successful college football coach and college athletics administrator. He was an All-American at Duke University and in 1959 won the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best interior lineman. After playing for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960 to 1962, he returned as an assistant coach to Duke, and then at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, before becoming head coach at East Carolina University and Duke. At East Carolina, he compiled a 3–8 record, and at Duke he compiled a 37–47–4 record. His overall record as a head coach was 40–55–4. His best seasons came in 1971 and 1974, when he went 6–5. He later became athletic director at the University of Cincinnati, the University of Southern California, and the University of South Carolina. McGee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1990. He died in 2019 at the age of 80.

University of South Carolina

McGee's years at the University of South Carolina were arguably his most successful. The university did not previously have a significant history of success. Before McGee's arrival, the Gamecocks had won no national championships.
McGee's goal was to build a foundation to foster athletic success for years to come. Upon his retirement, his accomplishments at the University of South Carolina included: