Golf Coach
Inducted 1983
A native of Pulaski, TN, Sherwin Clift has been affiliated with Austin Peay athletics continuously since 1956 as a student-athlete (freshman basketball 1956-57, track 1957-58), sports editor of student publication (yearbook 1958, 1959; newspaper 1958-59), graduate assistant (1959-60), sports information director (1960-67, 1981-present), golf coach (1961-71, 1978-80) and sportscaster (1971-82). A graduate of Cornersville High School, Clift finished third in the mile run in the 1957 Volunteer State Athletic Conference track championships. A 1960 graduate of Austin Peay with a major in health and physical education, Sherwin was voted Governor which goes to the most outstanding senior based on leadership, scholarship and service to the university. Holder of a master’s degree from APSU in 1961, Clift served as the “Voice of the Govs” for 386 football and basketball games, however, he is probably best known for his success as a golf coach. During the 13 seasons he coached, his tournament record was 13 championships, 8 runners-up and 12-third place finishes in 64 tournaments ? 543 wins, 252 losses ? for a .683 winning percentage, and a match won-loss record of 113-38-6 for a .748 winning percentage. Cliff’s team defeated or tied 167 different colleges and universities; won the 1979 Ohio Valley Conference, 1966, 1970, and 1979 Tennessee Intercollegiate Championships and 1961 and 1962 VSAC championships; finished third and eighth respectively in the 1968 and 1967 NCAA College Division Championships; and the Governors finished ranked No. 15 in the nation in Golf World in 1979 and TIC Coach of the Year in 1966, 1970, and 1979. He is married to the former Norma Deal of Hopkinsville, Ky. They have two children, Lamar and Natalie.
