​Introduction

High school football is important to communities in the state of Texas. It is often the one thing that cohesively unites these areas. Even now with extreme polarization along political, economic, and social lines, support of the local high school football team plays a key role in bridging these differences. The more successful the local team becomes the more unity it fosters within the local community. In cases where a local team establishes a dynasty, by winning multiple state championships within a short period, support of the team can invigorate its fanbase as they travel their unique journey into Texas high school football immortality.  H.G. Bissinger captured the effects of how this pursuit of winning state championships shaped an entire community in his 1990 New York Times bestseller Friday Night Lights.

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This all-consuming pursuit of state championships permeates all levels of societies within the state. It crosses the boundaries of race, wealth, geography and culture. Most schools in Texas have never experienced the euphoria of winning a single state football championship. Even fewer teams have won multiple titles, and only a select few have established a dynasty by winning multiple championship within a few years.

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Only in the last decade have African American football coaches been able to establish dynasties by winning multiple state championships at a single school. Unbelievably, three different African American coaches in three neighboring communities were able to obtain this exceedingly difficult goal between 2022 and 2024. Even though several African American coaches established dynasties during segregated competition, since integrated competition began in 1969 only three coaches have achieved this milestone.

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It is often overlooked, but it is undeniable that major historical and political shifts between 1965-1995 set the stage for these high school football dynasties to be created. Three critical factors coalesced in these communities in Southwest Dallas County that facilitated the establishment of these separate dynasties since 2022. The factors were the availability of economic resources, avid community support, and the employment of excellent coaches. These factors created a synergistic environment fueling athletic success.

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The Evolution of Place

A knowledge of historical change and continuity is particularly important in understanding a community. In the case of Southwest Dallas County, it is important to understand the effects of two major events. The first event was the elimination of at-large voting in Dallas County elections. From its beginnings, Dallas implemented a voting system in which members of the City Council were elected at-large. In practice, this led to a council dominated by men who lived in the wealthiest neighborhoods and they controlled the political process. This system had been in place for decades. What amounted to its eventual death knell came on Jan. 17, 1975, when federal judge Eldon Mahon, acting on Lipscomb’s suit, declared Dallas’ at-large system of voting unconstitutional.[1]

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The elimination of at-large voting weakened the political power of the Citizens Charter Association (CCA). This organization had controlled city politics since the 1930s by endorsing and funding a handpicked slate of candidates to run the city. In the future, however, even a broad-based, non-establishment oriented CCA would be expected to be challenged by strong candidates within the districts, as people realize what openness the single-member system affords.[2]   This shift in power was a direct result of voter rights lawsuits in the 1970s and 1980s.

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In 1975, an 8-3 single member district voting system was implemented. This new voting system allowed three members of the Dallas City Council to be elected at large, with eight members of the Council being elected from individual districts. Sixteen years later (in 1991) this system was replaced by a 14-1 voting system. This new system only allowed for the mayor of the city to be elected at-large, the other fourteen representatives were all elected from the districts they represented. This led to a major shift in political power within the city.

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Black people held 11 percent of the seats under the at-large system, 18 percent under the mixed 8-3 system, and 30 percent under the 14-1 system.[3]  Increased political participation led to increased optimism for the African American community. If Dallas Blacks looked forward to a more equitable future, elites mourned a past they believed had blossomed under the unchallenged rule of wealthy Southern whites.[4]

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The second major event influencing the history in Southwest Dallas County was the integration of Dallas public schools in the 1970s. Even though the famous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision occurred in 1954, Dallas refused to implement the decision until the 1970s when the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) finally adopted a plan to desegregate its schools. Under the plan, some 17,000 students between the fourth and eighth grades were bused, and four new senior high magnet schools were to be created to entice voluntary busing at that level.[5]  The plan failed miserably and set off a series of migrations out of the city of Dallas. The first migration, usually referred to as ‘white flight’, occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. The second migration was much quieter and involved the Black middle class leaving the city of Dallas. In 1970 the DISD had a population of 180,000 students. By 2002 that population had shrunk to 163,000 thousand students. But this decline in overall enrollment was not the most starling statistic. In 1970, the overall population of White students stood at 60% of all students, by 2001 that percentage had dropped to less than 10% of total enrollment.

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The Black student population reached a majority of all students by the 1980s with over half of the total population. That number had dipped to only a third of the total student population in the early 2000s. The combination of decreases in DISD school populations by Whites in the 1970s and Blacks in the 1990s had a direct influence on schools and athletic achievements in the surrounding suburbs by the 2020s.

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This phenomenon of ‘white flight’ to the suburbs in the 1970s and 1980s being followed by ‘black flight’ to the suburbs in the 1990s and 2000s was fairly common throughout the United States.  The suburbs of Atlanta, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Dallas experienced the largest increases in black population during 2000-2010.[6]  This migration began shortly after the shutdown of a critical Black institution.

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Prairie View Interscholastic League (PVIL) Collapse

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is the largest governing body for high school sports in the United States. The organization was formed in 1910. The charter of the UIL only allowed it to consider membership of White high schools until 1967. Therefore, Black high schools were forced to form their own separate but unequal governing body in the 1920s.

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During its decades of existence, the PVIL produced a legendary list of high school head football coaches that were able to establish dynasties that produced multiple state championships at a single high school. This list includes Marion Bates at Ft Worth I.M. Terrell, Willie Raye Smith at Orange, Walter Day at Corsicana, Raymond Hollie at Dallas Washington, Pat Patterson at Houston Yates, Raymond Timmons at Austin Anderson, and maybe the greatest Texas high school football coach that nobody has ever heard of, Elmer Reed of Lufkin.

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The PVIL administered African American high school athletic competition until 1969. The organization’s collapse due to school integration produced drastic consequences for African American high school coaches across the state. The league had peaked at about five-hundred-member schools in the early1960s, but at its closing only eight historically Black high schools in Texas were still standing, all in big markets: Lincoln and Madison in Dallas, Dunbar in Fort Worth, and Kashmere, Worthing, Yates, Washington, and Wheatley in Houston.[7]  In most small and mid-sized cities and towns, the separate White and Black high schools were consolidated into a single school.  In almost all cases since the White high school was the better equipped facility it became the single high school for the community. The head football coach occupied a special position in both the Black and the White communities.  But integration caused a major dilemma for the many high school coaches professionally.

 

Sometimes this position was even more respected than the mayor. But following integration there was only room for one head football coach. In these situations, the Black head football coach always lost out in the selection process no matter what level of success he had achieved at the local Black high school. This displacement of the Black head football coach was often traumatic for these men. Some moved into school administrative positions, whereas others left coaching and teaching altogether rather than suffer the indignities put on them in transition.[8]  Noted historian Michael Hurd described the demise of the PVIL in the following manner in his book Thursday Night Lights.

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“Just like that, after a half century of regulated divisiveness, the UIL tossed out a welcome mat and swung its doors wide open to the PVIL. Greeted by integration, a resigned PVIL stepped inside. And died.”[9]​

 

Building the Foundation

The initial ‘white flight’ associated with changes in the political governance model of Dallas led to movements to suburbs bordering the city. These movements led to large financial investments in infrastructure, housing, and new schools in these suburbs to support the migration of populations into these areas. The city of Desoto’s population increased in population from 6,617 in 1970, to 37, 646 in 2000 based on U.S. Census data. The neighboring city of Duncanville experienced a population increase from 14,105 in 1970, to 36,081 in 2000.

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The integration of schools in the DISD led to an even greater outflow of younger families with school age children to these suburban areas. This influx of these primarily new white students led to the building of brand-new high schools in each community. In spite of federal court decisions outlawing segregation in schools, housing and employment, the policies of agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) subsidized white flight in cities like Dallas.[10]  These subsidies were primarily delivered by overwhelmingly approving home loans for families in these new suburban communities.

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Desoto’s new high school was opened in 1976 following a successful bond election in 1973. The cost of the new school was $ 3.1 million dollars. Duncanville’s growth in the 1970s and 1980s also required approval of bond packages to improve its schools. Duncanville is now the second largest high school campus in the United States and occupies over 800,000 square feet. Not only were new schools built and old schools expanded in both communities but in a football crazed state like Texas, new athletic facilities like stadiums and training facilities also accompanied the new construction of schools. For this period of time these facilities were comparable to some of the best in the state.

 

The Unforeseen 2nd Migration

The one thing that no one anticipated during the 1970s and 1980s during the migration of white families was the migration of Black families to these same suburban areas by the 2000s. As society opened up employment opportunities for middle class Black families in Dallas during the last two decades in the 20th century, they acquired the income to seek better neighborhoods and schools.  With Dallas being geographically landlocked by Interstate 20 on its southern border the next logical next step for Black families seeking better opportunities was to breech this boundary and move into the mostly white suburban communities south of the city.​

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Initially, these communities existed as multi-racial cities. But eventually a similar pattern observed within the city of Dallas in the 1970s and 1980s repeated itself in these suburban cities as whites once again choose to migrate to more outlying suburbs leaving their prior communities which had become more heavily populated by minorities.

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 But the one thing they left behind were the physical schools and athletic facilities which in most cases were far superior to the ones minority students had previous access to in the DISD. Another major advantage the suburban schools offered over the urban school districts was better financial conditions for Black family units. This financial stability afforded young athletes the ability to participate in costly football training camps to enhance their skill level, as well as provide expensive technology not available to the nearby urban districts.

 

Consequences

Desoto is now 3 percent white, having lost 91 percent of its white population.[11] As these southern suburbs experienced demographic changes, they also experience political upheavals. Newly migrated Black citizens sought to make political inroads in these new areas. By the 2000s these communities had elected Black city council members and schools board members. The acquisition of political power had a profound effect on the schools as the student bodies in these communities became largely minorities. Over time these demographic changes within the student body compositions were accompanied by the hiring of more Black school administrators and teachers.

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 The collapse of the PVIL limited advancement opportunities for Black coaches regardless of their level of experience. As a result, many very competent Black coaches who wished to become head coaches in the 1980s and 1990s usually had one option. That option was to compete for the limited opportunities at the few Black high schools that survived following integration. This led to intense competition whenever one of these limited number of schools had an opening for a head football coach.

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In the early 2000s, some Black suburban communities began seeking to hire a new head coach (usually as a replacement for the previous White coach). This became the first time that Black coaches were considered for non-urban coaching positions. These suburban openings were especially attractive to Black head coaching candidates since they typically paid more and offered better facilities than those within urban districts like the DISD. This allowed these new Black suburban school districts to ‘cherry pick’ successful Black coaches having proven track records that had been established with limited resources.

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New Communities New Coaches

Reginald Samples, Claude Mathis and Jason Todd are undeniably three of the greatest coaches in Texas High School Football history. But any discussion of these three men must begin with Coach Samples of Duncanville. Samples has won over 300 games in his illustrious career placing him in the top 10 for wins all-time for the state.  He took two schools known for   winless streaks and playoff droughts and turned the programs into state title contenders. [12]   Samples is known in coaches’ circles by his nickname “The Godfather.”  Partly, because of his stern presence but more so for his coaching tree which has produced over twenty other Black high school head football coaches. After winning over 232 games at Lincoln and Skyline two schools within the urban DISD he was finally hired by suburban Duncanville high school in Southwest Dallas County in 2015. Samples’ coaching career has flourished to heights no one could have anticipated in the suburban environment. Between 2018 and 2024 his Duncanville teams have participated in five 6A state championship games. This is the highest and most difficult level of competition in the state. He won state championships in 2022 and 2023.

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The highest limb on Coach Samples coaching tree is occupied by South Oak Cliff high school head football coach Jason Todd. The two schools are about twenty miles from each other in Southwest Dallas County. Todd was an assistant coach on Samples’ staff at both Lincoln and Skyline high schools. The level of respect between the two coaches was epitomized by an interaction between the then assistant coach Todd when he realized that he needed to take drastic action to prevent himself from being late for head coach Samples’ practice because he locked his keys in his car. There wasn’t enough time to get someone to come and open it, so he broke the car window, got his keys and made it to practice on time.[13]  Todd became the head coach at South Oak Cliff high school in 2015. His teams have benefited by the passage of a 52-million-dollar bond package in 2016 which allowed for a complete renovation of the school and athletic facilities.

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Even though he was not the first coach considered for the job, he immediately put his stamp on the position. Todd’s team at South Oak Cliff high school compete in the second most difficult level in the Texas high school hierarchy. His teams have competed in the state championship game at the 5A level for four straight years between 2021 and 2024. The team won the 5A state championships in 2021 and 2022. Todd’s 2021 team became the first DISD school to compete in a state championship game since the 1950s. Ironically, Todd was able to capture a state championship in 2021 before his mentor Samples was able to achieve this milestone.

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Though Claude Mathis is not a direct branch on Coach Samples’ coaching tree, the two men will be forever linked together based on their careers. Coach Mathis is the head coach at Desoto high school which is only six miles from Duncanville high school with both schools being located in Southwest Dallas County.  But Mathis’ successes, as a coach is equally impressive as the success of Coach Samples and Coach Todd. Mathis is linked to Samples because they both compete at the 6A level of competition. Not only do they compete in the same high level of competition, but they are also members of the same district which means they play each other every year.  Because of proximity and the high stakes involved when these two teams play their annual battle, it is one of the most anticipated high school football games in the United States. The game is always played with sellout crowds in attendance. Desoto won back-to-back state championship games in 2022 and 2023 at the 6A level.

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Conclusion

Upheavals in politics and school integration in the 1970s and 1980s precipitated major demographic shifts in Southwest Dallas County. These two factors caused thousands of white families to flee the city and move to nearby suburbs. This movement led to explosive population growth in those areas. This explosive growth necessitated investment in infrastructure, new homes, and new schools to support the new citizens.

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Starting in the late 1980s and 1990s middle class Black families began to seek better living conditions and new opportunities and began an outward migration from the city as well. This Black migration mirrored the exact same pattern travelled by whites in the prior two decades. Whites responded to the wave of Black migration by choosing to relocate once again. This time moving even further away from the city’s core and relocating to even more distant suburban communities.

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 As Blacks moved into the inner suburbs of Dallas in significant numbers, they organized themselves and began to exert their influence on local political and educational issues.   This level of influence grew in direct proportion to the increase in the Black population in these communities. By the 2000s, this level of influence resulted in the election of Blacks into decision making roles in city government and the local school system.  Once this influence reached a certain level Blacks were able to increase the hiring of other Black professionals in the city and the school system. 

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One of the most critical hires in Texas high schools is the head football coach. Because of limited opportunities for Black coaches following the closure of hundreds of PVIL schools, opportunities in suburban districts became very attractive. In the 2010s both Duncanville and Desoto made the decision to hire the first Black high school football coach in either schools’ history. Around the same time, South Oak Cliff high school made a decision to hire the protégé of Duncanville’s head football coach Reginald Samples, Jason Todd, as their new head football coach.  All three of these men benefited from a series of events set in motion in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and seized the opportunities available to them and were able to accomplish something that had never been done before.

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Currently, there are over 1,500 head football coaching positions for public and private high schools in the state of Texas. African Americans hold a small percentage of these positions. Given the anti-DEI movement in today’s environment it is very unlikely that this statistic will change in an appreciable way in the near future since most of these schools are unlikely to even consider non-white coaching candidates.  Given the success of African American coaches before and after integration this seems like an obvious oversight and lost opportunity.

 

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FOOTNOTES: 

[1] Darwin Payne, Big D: Triumphs and Troubles of an American Supercity in the 20th Century, (Three Forks Press, Dallas, 2000). 419.

[2] Carolyn Barta, “The Fall of an Empire”, Dallas Morning News. January 27, 1975.

[3] Ruth P. Morgan, Governance by Decree: The Impact of the Voting Rights Act in Dallas, (University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, 2004). 180.

[4]Michael Phillips, White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001, (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2006). 149.

[5] Darwin Payne, Big D: Triumphs and Troubles of an American Supercity in the 20th Century, (Three Forks Press, Dallas, 2000). 419.

[6] The Brookins Institution, Black Flight of the Suburbs on the Rise, (Washington: Brookings Institution, 2015).

[7] Michael Hurd. Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas, (University of Texas Press, Austin). 196.

[8] Ibid., 179.

[9] Ibid., 178.

[10] Phillips, 168.

[11] Eric Nicholson, “In Dallas, White Flight Never Ends,” Dallas Observer, May 3, 2016.

[12] Joseph Hoyt, “If You really want to know ‘the Godfather’ Reginald Samples”, Dallas Morning News, August 7, 2009.

[13] Ibid.

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PRIMARY SOURCES

Assimakopoulos, Lisa. “Five Questions with Desoto head coach Claude Mathis.” Dallas Morning News, July 26, 2022.

 

Assimakopoulos, Lisa. “Duncanville to name Football Field after coach Reginald Samples.” Dallas Morning News, October 27, 2023.

 

Barta, Carolyn. “The Fall of an Empire” Dallas Morning News, January 27, 1975.

 

Florek, Michael. “Duncanville’s Reginald Samples closing in on UIL record; How he became one of the all-time greats” Dallas Morning News, September 13, 2017.

 

Hoyt, Joseph. “If You really want to know ‘the Godfather’ Reginald Samples.” Dallas Morning News, August 7, 2009.

 

Nicholson, Eric. “In Dallas, White Flight Never Ends,” Dallas Observer, May 3, 2016.

 

Riddle, Greg. “Can Dallas DISD football keep up with the booming DFW suburbs.”  Dallas Morning News, December 12, 2022.

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Riddle, Greg. “Key to the South Oak Cliff dynasty? Start with its homegrown head coach, Jason Todd.” Dallas Morning News, December 15, 2023.

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Taylor, Myah. “What does it take to win a Texas High school football state title?  We asked the Experts” Dallas Morning News, December 12, 2022.

 

SECONDARY SOURCES

Don E. Albrecht. Blinded by the Lights: Texas High School Football and the Myth of Integration.  Texas A&M University Press, 2025.

 

H.G. Bissinger. Friday Nights Lights: A Town, a Team. And a Dream, HarperCollins, 1991.

Chad S Conine. The Republic of Football: Legends of the Texas High School Game. University of Texas Press, 2016.

 

Michael Hurd. Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas. University of Texas Press, 2017.

 

Ruth P. Morgan.  Governance by Decree: the impact of the Voting Rights Act in Dallas. University of Kansas Press, 2004.

 

Darwin Payne.  Big D: Triumphs and Troubles of an American Supercity in the 20th Century. Three Forks Press, 2000.

 

Michael Phillips. White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001, University of Texas Press, Austin, 2006.

 

The Brookins Institution, Black Flight of the Suburbs on the Rise, Washington: Brookings Institution, 2015.

 

Collin Yarbrough. Paved a Way: Infrastructure, Policy and Racism in an American City. New Degree Press, 2021.​