Coach Roman Bates, Jr., Capitol High School, Baton Rouge, LA

In 1954 Roman Bates, Jr. graduated from Melrose High School in Memphis, where he was twice captain of state championship football teams. He won a football and track scholarship to Southern University, where he was named to the Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. A member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, he held bachelor’s, master’s, and master’s +30 degrees from Southern University. Coach Bates was head football coach of the Capitol High School Lions for 34 years, and also taught at West High School in Jackson, LA in 1966-67, and coached at Christian Life Academy in 2002. He was the original coach of the NAFL semi-pro Baton Rouge Eagles football team in 2005-2006. After retiring, Coach Bates worked part-time for BREC, coordinating football clinics for Doug Williams and Warrick Dunn. After winning numerous district and regional championships through the years, the CHS Lions were state 4A runners-up in 1999. That year Coach Bates was district, metro, and 4A state coach of the year. A member of the Louisiana prep football’s 200-Win Club, Coach Bates retired from Capitol High in 2000 with the 13th best all-time win-loss record in the state. After coaching one season at Christian Life Academy, his lifetime record was 225-158-6 for 35 years in coaching with a winning percentage of .586 over a total of 389 games.