Meet Autumn Lockwood: the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl– and also an ETSU alumna.
She is currently the assistant sports performance coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, which will be heading to Super Bowl LVII at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
In 2020, Lockwood graduated with a master’s degree in sport management and served as the assistant director of basketball sports performance from 2018 to 2021.
“We are extremely proud of Autumn as she continues to break barriers in her profession,” said Kevin Brown, ETSU’s assistant athletics director for communications. “Autumn did tremendous work with our student-athletes here at ETSU, becoming the first woman to serve in a full-time role within strength and conditioning.”
Post-graduation, she worked for the University of Houston as a coordinator of sports performance for women’s soccer, basketball and softball until July 2022.
She started with the Philadelphia Eagles in August of last year and has remained with the team through their 14-3 season leading them to the Super Bowl.
The official NFL Twitter account shared the historical news of her achievement Wednesday afternoon. It explained that Lockwood would become the fourth woman to coach in a Super Bowl and the first Black woman.
Natalie Smith, program coordinator for for the sport management master’s program, shared her excitement for her former student.
“It is not surprising to the Sport Management faculty that Autumn has become a trailblazer and found success in a very competitive career field,” mentioned Smith. “We could tell she was an incredible person the first time she stopped by our offices to introduce herself. She epitomizes our ethos of #MoreThanMajor and deserves all she has achieved.”
Even ETSU President Brian Noland echoed the same sentiment.
“We are incredibly proud of the achievements of Ms. Autumn Lockwood, an alum of ETSU’s Sport Management program and the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl,” said Noland. “Autumn has noted that her coaching philosophy centers on approaching each day by asking, ‘How can I get better?’ She is the living embodiment of ETSU’s commitment to excellence and our mantra, ‘Bucs Go Beyond.'”
“We will be rooting for Autumn next Sunday in Super Bowl LVII,” concluded Brown.
Lockwood was unavailable for comment at the time of the request.
Tune into Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. to watch Lockwood make history in real time.
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