Former West Chester Football Star, Rocky Rees, Passes Away

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – One of the finest Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) head coaches and former star on the gridiron for West Chester University, Rocky Rees, passed away Thursday evening after a short battle with cancer.
 
Rees, a 1971 graduate of West Chester University who also earned his master's degree from WCU in 1979, was one of the school's top running backs to ever don the Purple & Gold. He went on to a legendary head coaching career that included 21 seasons on the sideline at Shippensburg University.
 
Rees ranks eighth in PSAC history for the most wins by a coach while at a PSAC member school. He guided the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his career, earning four PSAC Coach of the Year awards and three regional coach of the year awards. At Shippensburg, Rees posted a record of 123-110-1 (.528). Overall, his career record as a collegiate head coach is 159-125-2, including five years at Susquehanna University (1985-89). He was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year with the Crusaders and is also a member of the Susquehanna Athletic Hall of Fame and South Central PA Hall of Fame. Rees was inducted in the Shippensburg University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.
 
While a member of the Golden Rams football squads from 1968-70, Rees racked up 2,240 yards rushing, which still ranks 17th all-time at the school. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry during his three varsity seasons. He is a member of the Killinger Foundation Football Hall of Fame and still holds the Golden Rams' single-game record for rushing touchdowns (five).
 
Rees was a well-respected member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), including a term as the organization's president from 1999 to 2000. He was elected to the AFCA Board of Trustees in 1992 and served as the chairman of the AFCA Meeting Rooms Committee from 1986 to 2002 and Chair of the Public Relations Committee from 2000 to 2006. Additionally, he was a long-standing member of the Ethics Committee.
 
He is survived by his daughter, Meghan. His wife, Patricia, passed away in 1998.