COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Former Tennessee Tech football coach and
player Bill Dupes, a member of both the Tennessee Tech and
Tennessee Sports Halls of Fame, died Saturday at the age of 81. He
is survived by his wife, Peggy, and four children.
Visitation will be on Wednesday beginning at noon at Sweetwater
First United Methodist Church (501 Church Street), with the service
beginning at 2 p.m.
Dupes was among 11 people inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
As a standout high school player at Sweetwater High School and
Tennessee Military Academy, Bill Dupes was offered a scholarship to
attend Tennessee Tech University where the three-year starter was
elected team captain his senior year, was named All-Ohio Valley
Conference and Honorable Mention Little All-American.
Dupes began his coaching career at Tech serving as an assistant
helping the Eagles to a Tangerine Bowl victory and winning two Ohio
Valley Championships.
In 1963 he took over an Austin Peay program that had not had a
winning season for more than a decade. In his second season at the
helm he led the Governors to an 8-1-1 record earning unanimous
selection as OVC Coach of the Year.
He returned to high school coaching in 1976, first at TMI and
later his prep alma mater, Sweetwater where he led his team to a
state title in 1993. He retired from coaching in 1998 ending a
44-year career.
He was inducted into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame in
1979.
View Bill Dupes' complete obituary
Visitation with the family will be from 12 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. From
1:45 until 2 p.m. will be family only time. The service will begin
at 2 p.m.
DIRECTIONS: Exit 1-75 onto highway 68 and follow it into Sweetwater (about three miles) to the intersection with highway 11. Turn left and go through town. Watch for a gazebo and turn left. Watch for Church Street, near the hospital and the Presbyterian Church.
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