Family honors legendary DeKalb coach Buck Godfrey with HBCU scholarship

The family of longtime Southwest DeKalb High School football coach William "Buck" Godfrey is working to continue his legacy through a scholarship supporting students attending historically Black colleges and universities.

Godfrey died Aug. 1 at age 83. A public memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.

Godfrey coached football at Southwest DeKalb for 30 seasons, compiling 273 wins and leading the Panthers to the 1995 Class AAAA state championship. In 2015, a DeKalb County stadium was renamed in his honor.

His daughter, Rashan Ali, said many people knew her father through football, but his influence extended well beyond the field.

"My father had an indelible impact on everybody who came into his presence," Ali said.

Godfrey was also an English teacher. Ali said her father taught everything from Shakespeare to James Baldwin and often pushed his students beyond what was expected in the classroom.

"So many people have said, because of your dad saying this one time, my life changed," Ali said.

Ali described her father as intelligent, articulate, and a "straight shooter" who lived life on his own terms. She said his favorite song was Frank Sinatra's "My Way."

During one of Godfrey's final nights in hospice, Ali said he shared a lesson with her and her brother.

"People make life so hard," Ali recalled her father saying. "It's really, really easy. The key to it is if you're kind and you treat people well, that's the key to it all."

Now, his family is working to carry his commitment to education forward through the William Buck Godfrey Legacy Scholarship.

Ali said her father had previously established a nonprofit that never fully got off the ground. After his death, she felt it was important to continue that work.

The scholarship will focus on students attending HBCUs. Ali said her father was an HBCU advocate and graduate who met his wife at Delaware State University.

The connection continued through their family. Their son attended Tennessee State University, and Ali graduated from Florida A&M University. She said many of Godfrey's football players also attended HBCUs.

Applications for the scholarship are expected to begin in March 2027.

Ali said she hopes the scholarship becomes a family legacy that continues through her children and future generations.

"We're so happy that we are going to be able to bless so many students," Ali said. "And I know he'll be so happy looking down from heaven knowing that work is being done."

Godfrey's public memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at the College Football Hall of Fame, 250 Marietta St. NW in Atlanta.