| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1939 Suffolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1966–1970 | Virginia Union (assistant) |
| 1971–1983 | Virginia Union |
| 1984–1992 | Norfolk State |
| 1995–2003 | Virginia Union |
| 2005–2010 | Saint Paul's (VA) |
| 2011–2013 | Virginia–Lynchburg |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1984–1989 | Norfolk State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 238–169–7 |
| Tournaments | 0–6 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 7 CIAA (1973, 1979, 1981–1984, 2001) | |
| Awards | |
| Black College Football Hall of Fame (2021) | |
Willard Bailey (born June 3, 1939) is an American college administrator and former college football coach. He served as head football coach at Virginia Union University from 1971 to 1983 and again from 1995 to 2003, Norfolk State University from 1984 to 1992, Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia from 2005 to 2010, and Virginia University of Lynchburg from 2011 to 2013, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 238–169–7. As a coach in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Bailey won seven conference championships, six with Virginia Union and one with Norfolk State. His Virginia Union Panther football teams made five straight appearances in the NCAA Division II football playoffs, from 1979 to 1983, while his Norfolk State Spartan football team made one appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs, in 1984.
These are players from Bailey's Virginia Union Panther, Norfolk State Spartan, and Saint Paul's Tiger teams who went on to the National Football League/Canadian League/Arena League:
Bailey graduated from Norfolk State in 1962.
Bailey has the most wins of any football coach in the history of the CIAA. In 2021, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. He is the president of Central International College, a religious-based school that opened in 2020, in Chester, Virginia.[1]