Former Ohio offensive lineman/assistant coach and longtime BSB contributor Bill Conley was inducted into the Ohio Central District Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Friday.
Conley earns the honor due to his decades spent coaching football in central Ohio at both the high school and collegiate level. After playing four seasons as an offensive guard at Ohio State under Woody Hayes from 1968-71, he dipped into the coaching sphere and led four different Ohio high schools across a 15-year period, coaching at London from 1974-77, Groveport from 1979-81, Middletown from 1982-83 and Dublin from 1988-90. He compiled a 78-39-3 record in those stints.
Conley’s success at the high school level earned him a role with Ohio State as an assistant, where he had two separate stints from 1984-97 under Earl Bruce and from 1991-2003 under John Cooper. He most notably had the role as recruiting coordinator for the Buckeyes during those years, helping bring in all-time players such as Pro Football Hall of Famers Cris Carter and offensive lineman Orlando Pace, among many others.
He also spent time as head coach at Ohio Dominican from 2010-15, compiling a 46-21 record with one Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title (2013) and two NCAA Division II postseason appearances (2013, 2014) during that span.
Conley, who is now an analyst for 610 WTVN’s and WCMH-NBC4’s Ohio State programming as well as a columnist for BSB, will be honored at Planks on Parsons Avenue in Columbus on April 23 at 7 p.m.
Longtime Ohio high school football coaches Phil Mauro and Pat Sergio will also be inducted to the CDFCA Hall of Fame alongside Conley.
