M Club Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1998
Dr. Bill Burkett, a junior college all-American at East Central Junior College, came to the Tigers in 1948 and played football for two years under former head coach Ralph Hatley. He also lettered in baseball for two years. He received his undergraduate degree in education in 1950 and his master’s degree in education in 1951. He later enrolled at the University of Alabama and earned his Ph.D. in Education in 1971. In 1952, Burkett became an assistant football coach at Messick High School and was named head coach at Mortimer Jordan High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He remained with the Alabama School System for 37 years moving into roles as coach, principal, assistant superintendent and then in 1984 was appointed superintendent of the district, the second largest in the state.
