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Belhaven University Athletics

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Hall of Fame

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Norman Joseph

  • Class
  • Induction
    2017
  • Sport(s)
    Football
Belhaven University is pleased to announce Coach Norman Joseph as a 2017 inductee into the Belhaven Athletics Hall of Fame.  Joseph took on the responsibility of starting the football program in 1997 and spent three seasons as head coach of the Blazers. 
 
The formal induction will take place during the 2017 Homecoming football game on October 28th.  Kickoff is at 6:00 pm.  Also recognized during Homecoming Weekend will be alumni from 20 seasons of Football, which began its inaugural season under the leadership of Coach Joseph in 1998. 
 
In his first two seasons at Belhaven, he was the only NAIA coach to produce both a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in back to back seasons.  In 1999, he led the Blazers to a Top 25 national ranking for six consecutive weeks. That season his team had ten 1st Team All-Conference players and an additional ten 2nd Team All-Conference players. During his time at Belhaven, his squads combined to go 16-15 in three years facing schools who had firmly established football programs for years prior.
 
Following his time at Belhaven, Coach Joseph was hired by San Jose State University as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, where he turned the Spartans into one of the top offensive teams in the nation.  Following San Jose State, he stepped back into the collegiate head coaching ranks at Louisiana College, followed by a move to Mississippi College, where he served as Head Coach until 2013.  The Choctaws finished 5-5 and 8-2 in 2006 and 2007, respectively. His 2008 squad began the season ranked #25 in the NCAA's Division III rankings and his 2009 team won the American Southwest Conference and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.  His career has also included stops as an assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech University, Northeast Louisiana University, Vanderbilt University, and Midwestern State University.
 
Joseph is known not only as a skilled tactician, but also a coach who exhibited Christ-like character and a genuine care for the student-athletes under his charge.
 
Joseph played collegiately at Mississippi State University and gained Churchman All-American honors in 1976.  His earned a B.S. in Speech Education at Mississippi State University in 1977 and a M.Ed. in Speech at Northeast Louisiana University in 1979.
 
Joseph and his wife, Jane, have three daughters: Elizabeth, Grace, and Sara.  He is a native of Vicksburg, MS.
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