Nix still going strong

Coach Conrad Nix Conrad Nix has been roaming the sidelines as a head football coach since 1969.

It’s a journey that has taken him from Lincoln to Haleyville, Talladega, and Albertville in Alabama and across state lines to Ocilla (Irwin County High) and Warner Robbins (Northside High) in Georgia.

This journey continues but it has already earned him a place in the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Conrad Nix, coach Bill Hawkins, and O.B. Logan Jr. have been selected as the class of 2009 and will be inducted on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Twin Oaks at Heritage.

Big success as head coach

It is at Northside High where Nix has become a legendary figure. In one of the most competitive areas for big-school football in the state, Nix has carved a swath through an often loaded region year after year.

Included are back-to-back undefeated seasons and state championships in 2006 and 2007. His teams reeled off 35 games in a row before losing at Lowndes County on Oct. 3, 2008. The 35-game winning streak is the eighth-longest in Georgia state history.

Nix is in his second stint as head coach of the Eagles. He was head coach at Northside from 1973 to 1980 and returned in 1994.

During his 23 years as head coach of Northside, he has won 229 games and lost 50. Over the last 12 years, he is 134-14 with two state titles and two state runner-up finishes, and is a remarkable 54-3 over the last four years. Overall, his record is 288 wins, 106 losses, and 1 tie.

He has been the region coach of the year 10 times, was the 2001 Georgia AAAAA Coach of the Year, 2007 Georgia AAAA Coach of the Year, and has made 25 playoff appearances overall. He was a nominee for the 2008 NFL High School Coach of the Year Award and last year won the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association R.L. Doyal Award of Excellence. He also coached in the 2008 Under Armour All Star Game in Orlando last year.

In his coaching career, Nix led Lincoln, Albertville, Irwin County, and Northside to the first playoff appearance in each school’s history.

In 1971, he was the youngest coach (25) at that time to ever be selected to coach in the Alabama High School North South All Star Football Game.

Background

Conrad Nix was a three-year starter for Bill Hawkins at Oneonta and was an allstate selection as center/linebacker his senior year.

He graduated from Oneonta in 1963 and went to Howard College (Samford) but an injury ended his playing career. He then married his high school sweetheart, Patsy (Whited), and they enrolled in Auburn University.

In an ironic twist, Nix will be inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame with the man who nominated him, his high school coach Bill Hawkins.

In his nomination letter Hawkins said: “I would like to submit my recommendation that Conrad Nix be inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame. It was my good fortune to coach Conrad Nix at Oneonta High School. He was a starter for three years on some of my best football teams...Conrad is a fine Christian man. He has been active in churches in the towns where they have lived. His lifestyle and high morals have made a great impact on the players he has coached...If the purpose of recognition and induction in the Blount County Hall of Fame is to reward individuals for their accomplishments, I can think of no one more deserving than Coach Conrad Nix.”

During his coaching career, he and Patsy had two sons – Rusty (Angie) and Patrick (Krista) – and now have six grandchildren – Emma, Bo, Caleb, Caroline, Catherine, and Sara.

Coach Nix and his wife are active members of Green Acres Baptist Church and he is active with the Georgia Gideon Ministry.