University of West Alabama Athletics

Jerry Pitts, a native of Sulligent, Ala., was a member of the UWA football team in 1971 and 1973-75. He was a member of the 1971 NAIA National Championship Team under legendary Head Coach Mickey Andrews. His football accolades were many, including being named First Team All-GSC twice (1974 and 1975) and First Team NAIA All-American in 1975. He was also a two-time Birmingham Post-Herald All-Small College First Team Selection (74-75) and earned two selections to the NAIA All-District 27 First Team (74-75). In 1974, he earned UWA (then Livingston University) Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a GSC Defensive Player of the Week recipient. During his senior season in 1975, Pitts helped lead the Tigers to a NCAA Division II Semifinal appearance in addition to being named A.P. Honorable Mention All-American and Permanent Defensive Team Captain. In 1980, he was named to the UWA Team of the Decade for the 1970s and in 1989; he was named to the Lamar County Sports Hall of Fame. Since his playing days in Livingston, Pitts has spent 19 seasons as a high school football coach and 24 years as a high school baseball coach. Some of his stops include: Nettleton (Miss.) HS (current), Sulligent HS, South Lamar HS, Marion County HS, Cordova HS and Newnan (Ga.) HS. He currently has 335 wins as a head baseball coach and has taken 18 teams to the playoffs, complete with a State Runner-Up finish in 2001 (Sulligent HS).