Ernest Hawkins (coach)

Hawkins was born and raised in the West Texas town of Lamesa, Texas and was a standout in football, basketball, and track and field at Lamesa High School.

After graduating High School in 1944 he enrolled at Texas Tech University. After enrolling, Hawkins joined the military and did not participate in athletics due to World War II. When the war ended, Hawkins returned to school in Lubbock where wartime rules allowed him to compete. A multi-sport athlete, he was a standout on the Tech basketball and track teams, and was the quarterback for the Texas Tech football team from 1947 to 1949. In three seasons as the Red Raiders starting quarterback, he led the Red Raiders to three Border Conference championships and appearances in the Raisin Bowl and Sun Bowl, and was all-conference in the 1948 season. Hawkins graduated from Texas Tech in 1950 at the top of his graduating class.

Hawkins and his wife Margaret moved from West Texas to Northeast Texas after he was given the job of head football coach and head basketball coach at Paris Junior College (PJC ) in Paris, Texas. Hawkins compiled a 32–20–1 record as the head football coach and a 39–49 record in basketball. He was also named to the office of athletic director for PJC due to his success on the court and on the field and administrative abilities. While at PJC, Hawkins attended graduate school at East Texas State University (ETSU) in Commerce, Texas, 40 miles southwest of Paris where he graduated from ETSU with a master's degree in 1956.

In 1957 Hawkins was hired by Jules V. Sikes as assistant head football coach at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce). Hawkins was part of an assistant staff that helped Sikes lead the Lions to six winning seasons, three Lone Star Conference championships, two LSC second-place finishes, and the Tangerine Bowl victories in 1957 and 1958. Hawkins worked with Sikes to make the Lion offense incredibly potent by mixing in Sikes' T formation power running with Hawkins's penchant for throwing the Football. The combination gave the Lions great success during that time, winning conference and bowl championships and sending numerous players to the National Football League.

In the Spring of 1964, Sikes died suddenly, and Hawkins was named successor shortly thereafter. The first two seasons saw the Lions go 2–7 and 4–5, but in only his third year Hawkins and Lions won the 1966 Lone Star Conference championship, his first of four. The Lions repeated as conference champions in 1969 and finished second place in 1968. At the end of the 1971 season, Hawkins had notched a record of 40–37–1 with two conference titles, one second-place finish, and four winning seasons.

Hawkins lived in Commerce, Texas, and was active with the football program at A&M-Commerce and also in the Commerce community. His wife Margaret died in 2012 after more than 62 years of marriage. He also had two daughters, Kathy and Lu Anne, and one son, Ray. Hawkins had a health scare in mid-2012 and was hospitalized while contracting West Nile virus, but he was treated and released a week later. Hawkins was often seen attending TAMUC football games and practices and enjoyed fishing, and was a long time member of the First Baptist Church of Commerce. The Field at Memorial Stadium in Commerce was named Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium in 2017 in his honor. Hawkins died on January 28, 2018, in Greenville, Texas after a brief illness.

• National Coach of the Year (1972)
• National Champion (1972)
• National Semifinalist (1980)
• 4 Time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year (1966,1969,1972,1983)
• Texas Tech University Athletic Hall of Honor (1975)
• Texas A&M University Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame (1988)
• Lone Star Conference Athletic Hall of Fame (2004)

• Ernest Hawkins at Find a Grave