Centenary Football: NCAA Record Setter and Former SEC Coach Joins Staff

The Centenary Gents football program made a big splash this week, but adding one of the originators of the 'Air Raid' offense to their staff. A coach who saw his team set six NCAA records, 41 Southeastern Conference records, and 116 school records during his run in the SEC.

Hal Mumme Joins The Centenary Gents Football Staff

This week, the Gents announced that legendary coach Hal Mumme will be coming to Shreveport to join their program. Mumme will take over as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach under Head Coach Byron Dawson. While Mumme has an extensive college coaching career, his last stop was as the Head Coach of the TSL Linemen in the developmental football league called The Spring League. Mumme led his team to the Spring League Championship.

Mumme also had two recent professional football stops, coaching in the Alliance of American Football as the OC for the Memphis Express. He also served as the OC under Bob Stoops for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. He made national headlines with the XFL, as Mumme broke his leg on the sidelines during a game, and kept calling plays.

Even with the pro football stops, its Mumme's work in the college football world that makes him a legend.

Hal Mumme Has A Legendary Coaching Resume

After Mumme's playing days at Tarleton State, he got to work as a coach. Starting in the high school ranks in Texas before breaking in as a Quarterback and Wide Receiver Coach with West Texas A&M. He got his first shot at an Offensive Coordinator job with UTEP in 1982. During this era, Mumme started tinkering with some offensive concepts that would forever change college football.

By the time Mumme took over as the Head Coach at Iowa Wesleyan, he had found other likeminded coaches who saw the 'Air Raid' vision. Mike Leach joined Mumme at Wesleyan, and they were off. They kept their partnership together as Mumme took over the Head Coach job at Valdosta State, and onto Kentucky, where Mumme would remain the Head Coach, and Leach was the Offensive Coordinator.

Hal Mumme's Offense Set NCAA And SEC Records

At Kentucky, Mumme would see his offensive vision take off. With quarterback Tim Couch, the program would go on to set six NCAA records, 41 SEC records, and 116 Kentucky program records. Literally the first game Mumme coached at Kentucky saw the team, and Couch, set the school record for passing yards in a game. Then they immediately set the school record for most passing touchdowns in a game. Kentucky would put the 'Air Raid' on the college football map for the first time in decades (we'll get to that in a second) and put the SEC on notice, setting record after record.

Mumme's time at Kentucky came to an unfortunate end, as investigations uncovered that one of his staff members had violated NCAA rules. Mumme himself was cleared of any NCAA violations, but he took responsibility for his staff's actions, and resigned.

Southeastern Louisiana Football Returned With Hal Mumme's Help

With Mumme being cleared of any NCAA violations, he was able to accept another Head Coaching position, which he took with Southeastern Louisiana. This was a 'phoenix rising' moment for both Mumme and Southeastern, as the football program at the school had been shutdown in 1985, and was returning in 2003. It was extremely impressive for Mumme to lead the team to a 5-7 record in their first year, and a 7-4 record in their second year, with the program just returning to play. His squad led the NCAA Division I-AA in Total Offense and Passing Yards Per Game in 2003.

Mumme then returned to full D1 coaching when he took over as the Head Coach for New Mexico State before the 2005 season. After his stint with the Aggies, Mumme returned to D2 with McMurray as their Head Coach. He would also return to the role of Offensive Coordinator for the first time in two decades when he joined SMU in 2013.

Another stop as a Head Coach came with Bellhaven, before becoming the OC at Jackson State in 2018. Then Mumme moved to professional football for the first time, joining the AAF and XFL.

Centenary Football's Connection To The Air Raid Offense

Now Mumme is heading to Centenary College to become their Offensive Coordinator, and complete the 'Air Raid' circle. Because a Centenary football legend may actually be the inventor of the 'Air Raid' offense, and it happened before Hal Mumme was even born.

According to football historians, the first time the term 'Air Raid' was published as a name for an offensive scheme was in 1941 to describe the Indiana Hoosiers offense. The Head Coach of Indiana who was implementing and running this 'Air Raid' offense was College Football Hall of Fame coach Bo McMillin. The very same Bo McMillin who coached the Centenary Gents as a D1 football program in the 1922 to 1924 seasons.

While at Centenary, McMillin won two Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships, and piloted wins over Boston College, TCU, Louisville, and Louisiana Tech. His record at Centenary was 26-3, with a 10 win season coming in 1923.

Mumme joining the Centenary Gents feels like a full circle moment for the 'Air Raid' offense, and those who made it famous.