Bill Proctor

By Jim Joanos

Currently presiding over the athletic department at FSU is Dr. William L. "Bill" Proctor. Following former Athletic Directory Dave Hart's departure from the university, Proctor took over in November as Interim Athletic Director and will serve until a search can be conducted and a permanent director selected.

Bill Proctor

Proctor does not have an easy task ahead of him. These are busy times in the athletic department of Florida State University. A transition plan is being developed for the football program to finish off the legendary coaching career of Bobby Bowden and move in time into the Jimbo Fisher era. A continuing investigation of allegations that a mentor inappropriately assisted a number of student athletes in regards to a course examination is ongoing. Schedules are being arranged for all nineteen athletic teams for the 2008-09 school year. In addition, all else that goes with a major college athletic program has to be taken care of.

Proctor is no stranger to FSU. His brother, Custis, was a member of FSU's first modern day football team in 1947. Bill Proctor came to FSU when I was there in the mid fifties. He had previously played football at Florida and Stetson. At FSU, Proctor red shirted in 1954 and was a valuable member of the 1955 football team. Tom Nugent was the head coach. In 1955, the team defeated NC State, Villanova, Furman, The Citadel, and Tampa, and lost to Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi Southern. Some of Proctor's teammates on that 1955 team have also meant a lot to FSU through the years. They include Burt Reynolds, Lee Corso, Vic Prinzi, Ron Schomburger, Gene Cox, Vince Gibson, Al Pacifico, Ted Rodrique, Carmen Battaglia, Billy Odom, John Griner, Don Powell and Bob Crenshaw, to mention a few. It was during the Nugent era that the FSU program transitioned from a non-scholarship, no frills, fledgling program into the middle echelon of college football.

Bill Proctor in 1955

During the 1955 season, Proctor played tackle on both offense and defense, as players played both ways then. In addition, he was the team's primary kicker. During the year, he converted 9 of 13 point after touchdown attempts. It was also as a kicker that he participated in one of the season's more humorous events. During the Virginia Tech game, while trying an onside kick, the ball started to fall off the tee just as Proctor swung his leg, causing him to barely touch it. It dribbled just a few yards. To this day, he vividly remembers the incident. So do some of those who witnessed it.

Proctor got his first degree from FSU, a bachelor's, in 1956. Following that, he coached high school football for six years before returning to FSU in 1962 to work on another degree and work at the university's Dean of Men's office. Eventually, he would also obtain a master's and a doctorate from FSU. In 1963, he took on added duties as an assistant football coach on the staff of Bill Peterson. In that capacity for three years, he saw another transition by the football program as it began to beat some of the better teams and gained additional respect in the college football world. It was during the 1964 season that FSU not only beat Florida for the first time but made its first appearance in the Gator Bowl when it defeated Oklahoma. Also on Peterson's staff at the time was another relatively new coach, Bobby Bowden.

In time, Proctor left FSU and moved on in higher education. Later, he served as the president of Flagler College in St. Augustine. He still holds the title of chancellor of that institution. In 2004, he got into politics and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. He has since been reelected and serves on several of the more important house committees.

Through the years, Proctor has received numerous prestigious awards. In 2001, he was awarded the Commissioner of Education's Lifetime Education Leadership Award, and in 2002, the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities' Distiguished Service Award. He has been awarded honorary doctor's degrees from Nova Southeastern University and Flagler College.

FSU has also honored him in several ways. In 1988, he was admitted into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 1989, FSU's College of Education presented him with its Distinguished Educator Award.

FSU seems to have the right guy in place to keep the athletics program moving forward. His experiences with FSU have provided Proctor with a deep appreciation and understanding of the trail that FSU has followed from having a brand new athletics program in 1947 to the status that it holds today among the top college programs in the United States. We wish him well in his quest.