ELON, NC - Shirley S. "Red" Wilson, the winningest football coach in Elon University history, passed away peacefully in his Burlington home on Friday night, January 8, at the age of 95.

Coach Wilson led the Elon football team for ten seasons, amassing a school-record 72 victories from 1967 to 1976. Wilson's overall record at Elon was 72-34-2. He also served as Athletic Director at Elon. 

"Coach Wilson was a great coach and even better person," said Dave Blank, Elon University Director of Athletics. "His impact on so many Elon student-athletes, assistant coaches, and members of our campus and community was remarkable and he will be missed by all of us."

His first game, the 1967 season opener against Elon's oldest rival Guilford on September 23, was a 28 to 21 victory, and the Wilson era was underway. His first season finished with five wins, three losses, and one tie.

Coach Wilson coached seven All-Americans in his time at Elon, including five first-team All-Americans, the 1976 South Atlantic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in Howard Ferguson and Ricky Locklear and College Football Hall of Fame Member Richard McGeorge. Wilson became the first Athletic Department employee to become the recipient of the prestigious Elon Medallion in 1995. 

Wilson led Elon to six conference championships. Five in the Carolinas Conference, including four straight from 1971 to 1974 and a South Atlantic Conference Championship in 1976.

He led Elon to the NAIA Division I Championship Game in 1973, losing to Abilene Christian in the finals after completing an 11-0 regular season. The following year Elon was back in the NAIA playoffs losing to Henderson State in the semi-finals. In his final year with Elon, Wilson led Elon to an 11-0 regular season, losing in the semi-finals to Central Arkansas 10 to 7 in overtime.

In 1979, Wilson became the Duke University head coach and led the Blue Devils to two winning seasons in 1981 and 1982. His final game as a head coach was a victory over archrival North Carolina.

Wilson was born on September 26, 1925, in Madison, North Carolina. He graduated from Davidson College, where he played football. Before becoming the head coach at Elon, he coached high school football in North Carolina and Virginia, where he won eight conference championships and had three undefeated seasons.

Wilson was inducted into the Elon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. He was also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Wilson and his wife Katie, who passed away on December 26, were married for 72 years. Wilson is survived by two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren, and one great grandchild.