For 17 years, Buddy Pough has been the head coach at his alma mater.
The man who is synonymous with Bulldog football entered 2018 knowing this was likely his final season in charge of the S.C. State program. He still had the passion to coach, if not the budget. But during the preseason, Pough said he was simply going to put his head down, embrace the grind, give it his best shot and then see where things stood at the end of the season.
Where things stand now is there have been rumblings that Pough's time in Orangeburg might not be done. After an 0-4 start, the Bulldogs rallied to win five of their last seven games and came within one win over NC Central for a 6-5 season. Instead, the Bulldogs finished 5-6 overall, 4-3 in the MEAC. S.C. State needed one more league win to finish in second in the conference standings. Instead, it was a fourth-place finish for the team and that left Pough wanting more.
Whether he gets it will be decided in the next week or so. Pough said he has met with athletics director Stacy Danley as the two have evaluated the state of the program - which is customary after every season.
"We've gone over the good and bad things and everything else that you talk about," Pough said.
"He is now in the process of getting through the rest of the administration and the board to decide exactly what will be done. But, as of this point right now, we have not decided from his side as administration or from my own personal side if this is going to be an agreement that is going to come together for 2019. Under the right circumstances, I think I would like to come back."
Late Wednesday afternoon, S.C. State AD Stacy Danley released the following statement:
“Discussions regarding Coach Pough’s contract have not taken place at this time. I will have the appropriate discussions, with Coach Pough and President Clark to determine, the state of the program. Subsequently, a decision will be made based on what we believe will be in the best interest of the university."
In his 17 seasons of Buddy Ball, Pough is 125-70 record, just three wins shy of the all-time career wins mark set by the legendary Willie Jeffries.