William Everett Derryberry

William Everett Derryberry

Biographical details
Born	(1906-10-11)October 11, 1906 Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	October 26, 1991(1991-10-26) (aged 85) Cookeville, Tennessee, U.S.
Alma mater	Oxford (BA, 1932, MA, 1940)
Playing career
1925	Tennessee
1927	Tennessee
Position(s)	Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1934–1936	Tennessee JC

William Everett Derryberry (October 11, 1906 – October 26, 1991) was an American football player and coach and university president.

College football

Derryberry was a football player at the University of Tennessee, lettering in 1925 and 1927. He was the first person in that school's history to earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity (Beta Sigma chapter) at the University of Tennessee and was recognized by the fraternity as a Significant Sig in 1977.^[1] He served as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee Junior College at Martin (now known as UT Martin) from 1934 to 1936.^[2]

Before and after his coaching career, he earned two degrees from Oxford University in Oxford, England while studying as a Rhodes Scholar.^[3]

Tennessee Tech presidency

Derryberry was the president of Tennessee Tech from 1940 to 1974.^[4] The university's administration building is named in his honor.^[5][6]

References

1. "significant sig recipients". sigmachi.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
2. "Football Media Guide" (PDF). UT Martin Skyhawks. 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
3. "Rhodes Scholar William Derryberry". University of Tennessee–Knoxville. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
4. "Tennessee Technological University". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
5. "Office of the President - Past Presidents". Tennessee Tech. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
6. "Tennessee Tech's Derryberry Hall - Tennessee Tech University Archives and Special Collections". Tennessee Tech. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

External links

• William Everett Derryberry at Find a Grave