TSSAA Hall of Fame class includes talented coaches
Clint Parnell was stunned when he heard the news.
The longtime school administrator, who had worked for more than 56 years in Nashville Metro Schools and now at Goodpasture, was chosen to be in the TSSAA Hall of Fame's 2020 class.
“This is a humbling experience,” Parnell said. “You know, you don't get into this to gain this type of recognition. But it is appreciative for the years you put in.
“It wasn't because of me, but because of everyone I worked with.”
Parnell is part of a nine-person class that included state championship football coaches Bobby Alston of Memphis University School, Buck Coatney of Knoxville Fulton and Jeff Morris of Milan.
Alston is still the MUS coach, while Coatney and Morris have retired.
“It is a great honor to represent Milan, and what a good program Milan was,” Morris said.
“I haven't had a chance to think about it, but this is a nice honor because it is all of the sports across the state. It does make you feel good that somebody noticed.”
Here is a look at all nine inductees: Bobby Alston: Alston has been an administrator and coach at MUS since 1977 and has coached football at MUS since 1980. He has been the head coach since 1998. Alston has won four state titles (2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009) and has runner-up finishes in 2012, 2013 and 2018.
Buck Coatney: Coatney was the Fulton football coach from 1992-2010 and compiled a 144-91 record. He won state championships in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Barbara Daush: Daush was an administrator in the Memphis area for more than 40 years. Daush was the president and CEO of St. Agnes for 22 years and head of Hutchison Lower School from 1990-94. She has served on the Division II committee in the past, acting as a liaison on the TSSAA'S Legislative Council and Board of Control.
Carolyn Jackson: Jackson is a longtime basketball and volleyball coach at Chattanooga Brainerd. She compiled 985 basketball wins from 1973-2013. She coached volleyball from 1975-89 and has been a TSSAA volleyball official for 23 years.
Turner Jackson: Jackson has been a teacher, coach and administrator for 41 years. He started coaching at Bradley Central in 1979, coaching wrestling, cross country, track and field and softball. He also was Bradley Central's athletics director for 20 years.
Shelby Miller: Miller was a TSSAA football and basketball official for 54 years and worked five TSSAA state championship games. He is still an active official as a head linesman. He also was a basketball official for 25 years.
Jeff Morris: Morris was the Milan head coach from 1996-2017 and had a 222-69 record. He had 21 playoff appearances with state championships in 1998 and 1999. He also had four state runnerup finishes (2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012).
Clint Parnell: Parnell has spent 56 years as a school administrator in the Nashville area. He coached at Maplewood for 21 years and was an assistant principal at Whites Creek for five years. He has been an administrator at Goodpasture since 1992 and was the principal until 2005. He was a basketball official in the 1970s.
Marion Wilhoite: Wilhoite was the sports editor at the Columbia Daily Herald from 1962-2016. He is a member of the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. Wilhoite died in 2017.
Contributing: Michael Odom, Jackson Sun. Reach Tom Kreager at 615-2598089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.