Black History Month: Demario Warren, Southern Utah
DeMario Warren took over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on January 11, 2016. That date will always be engraved in SUU history. Not only was it the beginning of a new era under Warren’s guidance, but it was also the day Southern Utah hired the first African-American head football coach in the state of Utah.
For Warren, it was a blessing to get the honor to lead a program he had already considered his family.
Growing up, Warren was a kid that dabbled in his fair share of sports. He participated in basketball, football, track & field, and baseball over the years.
“I love basketball,” said Warren. “It was my first love when I started playing. I enjoyed it from day one. My mom made me play football, she was scared I would get hurt playing baseball.”
Coaching became a part of Warren’s life early on.
“I coached throughout my college football career,” Warren said. “I coached basketball with Eddie Wilson at Fairfield High School. I remember I would leave football practice, and then drive down for basketball practice.”
In college, it was apparent that Warren had early on realized that hard work and time management would be keys to his success. Even when you have a positive head on your shoulders, there’s still a few people out there that you can lean on to make sure you stay on the right track.
When asked about those who mentored him along the way, Warren had a few that played different roles.
“Bob Biggs, my head coach at UC Davis, and Ed Lamb gave me my first opportunity,” Warren said. “Lamb was a guy that taught me a lot of things about coaching and the profession. Justin Ena, now at Utah, taught me some things in my early years of coaching.”
That same mentorship and guidance is what Warren reflects onto his student-athletes.
“I’m someone that’s going to care about them on and off the field,” said Warren. “I’m going to push them to the limits and some days they may not like me, but at the end of the day they know I care about them as a person. I think that’s why they play so hard and do so well in school. The players know that we (the coaches) have their best interest in mind and we want to make them the best person they can be.”
The life lessons that Warren has come across, not only shaped him into the man he is today, but also allowed for him to be in the historical position that he is in now.
“It was definitely humbling and honoring,” when Warren talks about being hired as the first African-American head football coach in the state of Utah. Me and Kalani (Sitake), BYU head coach, were the first-two minorities right at the same time getting hired in the state of Utah. It definitely brings a sense of responsibility. When you’re the first to do it, you have to do a good job. If you don’t, it may take a while for another person to get an opportunity. I was an African-American studies major in college so knowing the history of African Americans and to be the first one in Utah is a great honor. At the same time, it came with a lot of responsibilities. I take it very seriously and try to do the best job I can do every day.”
During college, one of the instrumental black figures that Warren learned about, would later turn out to be a household name.
“We actually learned about Barack Obama before he became president,” Warren reflects. “He was a person I could relate to. He worked his way up through college and got into politics as a black leader at a young age. He was someone that was current that was interesting, so when he became the first black president of the United States a few years later that was pretty cool.”
Warren has managed to create his own storyline at Southern Utah that will also be a part of history.
Since his arrival at Southern Utah, Warren has led his Thunderbirds to back-to-back winning seasons. Most recently, Warren and his team captured a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season title after finishing 7-1 in league play. Backed by a great home crowd all year long, and some impressive wins, Warren’s team earned the No. 8 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs and a first-round bye.
Warren’s infectious personality and leadership has led to crowds piling in Eccles Coliseum, including a record-breaking 10,306 fans in 2016, followed by three crowds of 10,000+ including a new record of 11,811 when the Thunderbirds hosted Weber State in the second round of the FCS Playoffs in 2017.
Warren, a kid from Fairfield, not only earned his bachelor's degree in African-American studies from UC Davis, but played college football, while coaching high school basketball. If that wasn’t enough, Warren graduated with a Master's of Business Administration degree, as well. He’s entering his third season at the helm of the Thunderbird football program, as he’s taken them to new heights. Not bad for a first-generation college student.
Warren and his wife, Amanda, are the parents of three children; Demario, Jr., Jazelle and Daylee. Warren’s passion for playing multiple sports at a time, has definitely trickled down to his children.
Warren’s son participates in basketball and played football for the first time this year. His daughters play soccer, so there seems to be no such thing as an “offseason” for the Warren household.
Warren is not only an inspiration to his children, but to other young men and women out there who can achieve whatever they put their mind to with hard work and dedication.
In the words of Southern Utah Head Football Coach Demario Warren, “If you can make your passion your career then you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”