Upcoming Event: Football versus Arizona State on December 31, 2025 at 2 p.m.


8/26/2019 3:51:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – For the entire 2019 football season, Duke will don a “McGEE” helmet sticker in memory of former Blue Devil lettermen, coaches and twin brothers Jerry and Mike McGee, who passed away on January 6, 2019 and August 16, 2019, respectively.
The twins were born December 1, 1938 in Washington, D.C., and raised in Elizabeth City, N.C.
Jerry McGee lettered three seasons on the gridiron at Duke from 1958-60 and was a member of the Blue Devils' squad that defeated Arkansas, 7-6, in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1961. Following his graduation from Duke in 1961, he entered prep coaching and led Edenton Holmes (N.C.) High School to a pair of state championships in 1964 and 1965.
Jerry then coached in the college ranks, serving stints at Kansas State, Southern Illinois, East Carolina and Duke. With the Blue Devils from 1971-75, he worked alongside brother Mike, who was the head coach.
Jerry, who went on to serve as the executive director of the N.C. Athletic Directors Association from 1991-2015, was enshrined into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, National High School Hall of Fame and National Interscholastic Administrators Association Hall of Fame. In addition, he was awarded the highest civilian honor in the state of North Carolina, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
Mike McGee lettered three seasons on the gridiron at Duke from 1957-59, twice earning both All-ACC (First team in both 1958 & 1959) and All-America (Honorable mention in 1958 & first team in 1959) honors. He capped his outstanding collegiate career by receiving the ACC Player of the Year accolade in addition to the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman.
Named to both the Silver Anniversary and 50th Anniversary All-ACC teams, Mike also garnered the McKevlin Award as the ACC's Male Athlete of the Year in 1960. A second round pick of St. Louis in the 1960 NFL Draft, McGee played three seasons with the Cardinals, starting 36 games.
Mike's gridiron coaching career included assistant coaching stops at Duke (1963-65), Wisconsin (1966) and Minnesota (1967-69) and head coaching stints at East Carolina (1970) and Duke (1971-78). He transitioned into administration and later served as the athletic director at Cincinnati (1980-84), Southern California (1984-93) and South Carolina (1993-2005).
In 1990, Mike was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and also holds membership in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame (1983) and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (1991).
Duke opens the season against No. 2 Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, August 31. To order Duke season tickets, call (919) 681-BLUE or visit www.GoDuke.com/footballtix.
#GoDuke