COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Swinton Campus Center had quite the festive atmosphere Thursday morning with cheerleaders and the pep band providing the backdrop for the first day of the Ron Dickerson, Jr. era.
Dickerson was formally introduced as the Tigers' new head football coach. He comes to Benedict after serving the last two seasons at the University of West Florida, helping the Argonauts to back-to-back Gulf South Conference championships, a 20-6 record and a berth into the NCAA Division II national semifinals in 2022. He served as the UWF Offensive Coordinator and wide receivers coach last season, helping the Argos rank 17th in the nation in passing offense, and 20th in the nation in total offense. As the team's wide receivers coach in 2022, he guided a passing attack that ranked fifth in the nation in passing yards per completion.
"I have an incredible respect for Benedict College and its commitment to excellence," Dickerson said in a statement.
"The tradition-rich history of this program is unmatched across the landscape of HBCUs, and I look forward to continuing that moving forward. My family and I feel truly blessed and look forward to becoming a part of the Benedict community. I want to thank Director of Athletics Willie Washington and President Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis for their belief in me to lead this program."
Dickerson takes over a Benedict program that is coming off back-to-back SIAC championships and HBCU Division II national championships. The Tigers went undefeated during the regular season in 2022 and 2023 and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs both years.
Prior to joining West Florida, Dickerson spent the 2019 season as the Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at Jackson State.
He worked for two seasons at Morgan State from 2017-18 where he developed the top special teams units in the MEAC and ranked in the top five nationally in blocked kicks as the Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator.
Dickerson was the head coach at Gardner-Webb from 2011-12 where he compiled a 7-15 record and had 10 players earn All-Big South Conference. He then served as the Offensive Coordinator at Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Ala. from 2014-17.
He coached under Houston Nutt at Mississippi for four seasons from 2007-10, developing two All-Americans and four All-SEC wide receivers. The Rebels finished second in the SEC West twice and won a pair of Cotton Bowl Classics in Jan. 2009 and 2010.
Dickerson's first job as a position coach was working with running backs in six seasons at Louisiana-Monroe and Missouri State from 2002-07.
Dickerson worked in the professional ranks with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2000-02, coaching running backs and special teams.
He started his coaching career under his father, Ron Dickerson, at Alabama State in 1997 as the Run Game Coordinator.
As a player, Dickerson had a four-year career in football and track at Arkansas. He played two seasons in the NFL from 1993-1994 for the Kansas City Chiefs before a two-year career with with NFL Europe. He played for the London Monarchs and Scottish Claymores, winning the NFL Europe Championship in 1996 with the Claymores.
Dickerson takes over for Chennis Berry who is now the head football coach at South Carolina State.