As the Celebration Bowl showdown inches closer, there will be a lot of comparing the Prairie View and South Carolina State football programs as they prepare to meet Saturday for the Black college football national championship.
While you debate the differences in the two HBCU programs, when you look at the two coaches – Prairie View’s Tremaine Jackson and South Carolina State’s Chennis Berry—it’s hard to ignore the similarities in their arrivals at the pinnacle of Black college football. But both “ball coaches” are quick to point out that the similarity they are most proud of is their brotherhood as men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. While the game is officially known as the Celebration Bowl, it has been unofficially dubbed the Omega Bowl.
The two Good Bruhs will meet on the field for the first time Saturday when South Carolina State takes on Prairie View at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., at 12 p.m.
“Tremaine is a good football coach, but a good human being first. To me, it’s about being a good human being,” Berry said to the Defender. “He is also a part of the greatest fraternity in the world, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. Roo to the Ques.”
“Coach Berry and I have been knowing each other for a while,” said Jackson, a product of Texas Southern who spent time as an assistant at smaller schools before getting head coaching opportunities at Colorado Mesa and Valdosta State. “Both of us are a part of the greatest fraternity in the history of fraternities, which is Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. So I know how he is wired, I know how he is built. We are built in the same manner.”
Both coaches are products of HBCUs. Berry is an offensive line coach by trade, and Jackson cut his teeth as a defensive line coach. Both took the Division II route to head coaching positions in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). And they have been instantly successful upon their elevation, with Jackson leading the Panthers to the Celebration Bowl after winning the SWAC Championship in his first season and Berry having led the Bulldogs to the national championship game for the second time in as many seasons at South Carolina State after dominating in the MEAC.
“I’ve crossed over with his teams a lot, I’ve seen his teams a lot on tape and they are very physical and they are a representation of who their coach is and how he goes about his business and how he represents his program. Nothing but respect for Coach Berry and the job that they do. We look forward to sharing the field with them on Saturday.”
Tremaine Jackson
“He’s a good young man. I’ve been knowing him for a long time. He is an old D-line guy, I’m an old O-line guy. We get it out of the mud. That’s kind of how it is,” said Berry, who is a product of Savannah State and was the head coach at Benedict before arriving at South Carolina State. “You plan your work, and then you work your plan. At the end of the day – I’m sure he was the same way – we wanted to be good Indians. When you are a good Indian, when you are an assistant coach and when your opportunity to become a good chief, good things and blessings come your way.”
Jackson also has a great deal of respect for Berry, who is 10 years his senior.
“I’ve crossed over with his teams a lot, I’ve seen his teams a lot on tape, and they are very physical, and they are a representation of who their coach is and how he goes about his business and how he represents his program,” said Jackson, 42. “Nothing but respect for Coach Berry and the job that they do. We look forward to sharing the field with them on Saturday.”
“It’s the big dogs. It’s the championship. They’ve got players, we’ve got players, too. When it gets down to it at the end of the day, when the ball is kicked off you are going to get 60 minutes. No excuses. No explanation.”
Coach Chennis Berry
Philosophically, Berry and Jackson are aligned. They both instill a hard-nosed and disciplined brand of football in their players. Both talk about being process-oriented. They both also view coaching football as a form of religion, with Berry often mentioning coaching as a ministry, while Jackson often talks about the football field as his pulpit.
Berry and Jackson are also proud of their Division II roots, which paved the way to their instant success. Jackson last season coached Valdosta State, known as the cradle of coaches, to an undefeated regular season and to runner-up in the Division II National Championship Game. He has now come to Prairie View and instantly lifted the Panthers to the national title game for the first time in program history.
Berry, meanwhile, had instant success at Benedict before moving on to South Carolina State, where the Bulldogs have ruled the MEAC in his two seasons on the job.
Both discuss candidly the challenges at the Division II level, which have made it easier to navigate the transition to coaching at HBCUs, where there is much to overcome as boys transition to young men.
“Regardless if it’s D-II, FCS we all have to do it with limited resources. You have to do more with less,” said Berry, who has been coaching HBCU ball since 1995. “We are coaching, we’re raising young men. It’s really, truly a ministry. I know this game has an expiration date. All of our young think they are going to play professionally. But the reality is, this game is going to end one day.
“I tell our coaches we have to pour into them not only as football players but as young men because one day they are going to be fathers, husbands, and leaders in the community. I want to make sure I get a chance to impact their lives in a positive way.”
