Hall of Fame
After proving his versatility as a varsity athlete at Wheeler High School, Oakley served 32 months in the military before beginning his college education. He began at East Mississippi Junior College and transferred to Memphis State University, earning his B.S. degree while playing baseball and basketball.
High school coaching experience was gained at Walnut and Verona, where he won state championships in both girls' and boys' basketball. He came to Northwest in 1955, where he would remain for ten years. During this time, he served as men's basketball coach, assistant football coach, athletic director, and dean of student personnel.
While coaching at Northwest, he returned to college to receive his master's degree and to work toward a doctorate at the University of Mississippi. He held positions with the Mississippi State Highway Department and the Appalachian Regional Commission before coming back to Northwest as an administrator in 1977. Oakley found a new vocation in the years following his retirement in training bird dogs for hunting and field trial competition.
