Died February 10, 2021.

DeSales High School, Louisville, KY

Football Coach

Local news:

Ryan Bringhurst remembers a crowded room when he interviewed in 2016 to become the athletic director at Central High School, but there was one person who stood above the rest.

Bringhurst still recalls the presence of Ty Scroggins, the man who had coached the Yellow Jackets football program to five state championships.

“He owned a room, whether it was his room or not,” Bringhurst said. “It was just something about him. As an athletic director, you wanted that coach who was just going to stand out. Whether it was a coaching clinic or the state championships or even at the Sweet 16, there was just this respect for him anywhere he went.

“People were naturally drawn to him.”

Louisville’s high school sports community was in mourning Thursday morning after news came Wednesday evening Scroggins had died after a long battle with COVID-19. He was 49.

In an interview last month, Scroggins’ longtime girlfriend Sheri Duff said the coach tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 14 and was hospitalized after tests revealed a low oxygen level. Duff said Scroggins was put on a ventilator in late January in Louisville before being moved to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington on Jan. 26.

Scroggins had spent the past four seasons as an assistant football coach at DeSales, which confirmed his death in a social-media post Wednesday night.

“Ty was a great coach as well as a great man, and he will be sorely missed in the DeSales community, along with the Louisville football community,” DeSales athletic director Don Bowers said. “My heart goes to his family in this time of sorrow.”

Along with Duff, Scroggins is survived by his three children — Jayden, a senior at DeSales; Jordan, a senior at Pleasure Ridge Park; and Mikayla, a sophomore at Male.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Scroggins posted a 101-43 record in 10 seasons (2007-16) as the head coach at Central, reaching seven Class 3A championship games and winning five titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012). He was the first African-American head coach to win a state football championship in Kentucky.

Scroggins was a 1990 graduate of Fairdale, where he played football and was the sixth man on the school’s 1990 state championship basketball team. After playing linebacker at the University of Louisville, Scroggins got his start in coaching at Doss. He was an assistant for four seasons before being named head coach in 2002, compiling a 22-30 record over five seasons.

He took a chance after the 2006 season, resigning at Doss to pursue the Central job.

“I couldn’t guarantee he’d get the job, but he bet on himself,” said Marlon Miller, who was the athletic director at Central then and now is the principal at King Elementary. “Once he went in the interview, it was clear to me he was the most prepared and ready for what we were looking for at Central. I was sold then. He was prepared and had a game plan.”

Miller said some questioned the hiring of Scroggins — especially after an 0-2 start in 2007 — but the final results spoke for themselves.

“He did it the right way,” Miller said. “When you do things the right way, look at the results. He handled winning with class, and he also handled losing with class. …

“He had so much more to give. I thought he could have helped a lot more people.”

His impact was felt across the state, from the West End of Louisville to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

Anthony “Ace” Wales was a star running back for the Yellow Jackets and was a member of the 2008, 2010 and 2011 state championship teams.

“He believed in me when nobody else did, especially being a 160-pound running back playing varsity football,” Wales said. “He always knew how to get to a kid and get the best out of him. I had troubles with neighborhood stuff and back at home when I was a high school kid.

“I was a cocky kid, but he was able to sit down with me and talk to me and relate to me. It wasn’t just an adult-kid thing. He was able to be my father, my coach and my friend. That’s hard to find with any coach.”

Wales rushed for 8,213 yards at Central, ranking third in state history, and went on to have a solid career at Western Kentucky. He recently finished his first season as the head coach at Iroquois and credited Scroggins as a strong mentor.

Before the season, Scroggins met with Wales and two other new African-American coaches — DaMarcus Smith at Western and Jalen Harrington at Shawnee — to provide guidance.

“He never even coached DaMarcus or Jalen, but he wanted to sit down and give him the knowledge he’s learned,” Wales said. “That shows a lot about him as a person. It wasn’t like, ‘I just want to talk to my guys.’ He wanted to help everybody any way he can. Some people really care about everybody, and he’s one of those guys.”

Of Central’s seven trips to the state finals under Scroggins, six came against Belfry and legendary coach Philip Haywood. Scroggins won the first four of those meetings, but Belfry won the last two in 2014 and 2016. That 2016 final was Scroggins’ final game as Central’s head coach.

Along the way, Scroggins and Haywood developed a close friendship.

“Some of our conversations would revolve around our kids and the similarities,” said Haywood, who has a state-record 457 victories in 46 seasons. “Even though there was a geographical difference in our kids, some of the similarities we both faced. You look at the world, and it’s a big place. But you find out it’s not as big as what you think when you sit around and get to know people. We had that in common and really appreciated that about each other.”

Marvin Dantzler took over as Central’s coach in 2017 and won a state title in 2018. With Scroggins staying at Central as a teacher even while he coached at DeSales, Dantzler and Scroggins became good friends.

“One of the rules in coaching is that you never want to be the guy to follow the guy,” Dantzler said. “But in this case, it turned out to be a blessing because I followed not only a great coach but a great person. We were co-workers in the building, and we were able to build a great relationship.”

Dantzler described Scroggins as “humble.”

“I would tease him and say, ‘Man, you’re kind of a big deal,’” Dantzler said with a laugh. “He would just be so humble … because he never presented himself that way. He was just Ty.”

Bringhurst, now the principal at the Nelson County Area Technology Center, expects Scroggins’ legacy to go beyond the football field.

He mentioned the players he coached, the students he taught, who now serve as coaches, teachers, police officers and in other professions around the community.

“His legacy is going to live on for generations through people he’s impacted on the West End,” Bringhurst said. “His former players are going to continue to teach the next generation with things they learned from Ty. So a little piece of Ty is going to continue to live on for a very long time because he impacted so many people in his career.”

Another part of his legacy is a motivational speech and prayer Scroggins started during his time as Central’s coach. Dantzler said players insisted they keep the tradition going after Scroggins left the program.

As the team gathers in the locker room before taking the field, the speech rises in volume for the final three lines:

“I’ll do my thing!”

“In Jesus’ name!”

“Amen!”