SE HANDS FOOTBALL REINS TO BILLINGS

His arrival was delayed by more than an hour, but that didn't diminish the rousing reception Tim Billings was afforded when he was introduced as Southeast Missouri State University's new head football coach Thursday afternoon.

As Billings walked into the Show Me Center meeting room at 3:35 p.m. after having his plane delayed for a while in Lexington, Ky. -- the press conference had been scheduled for 2:30 -- most of the approximately 100 persons in attendance rose to their feet, clapping and cheering as if they were rooting the football Indians on to a big victory.

And that's actually rather appropriate, because the reason Billings was in Cape Girardeau Thursday in the first place is that Southeast officials firmly believe the Marshall defensive coordinator will eventually lead the Indians to plenty of big wins.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to have attracted a candidate of Tim's stature," said Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman. "He has an outstanding pedigree."

Said Southeast president Ken Dobbins, "We believe Tim Billings will be the one who can turn this program around and who will put Southeast in contention for the national championship in the near future."

Most of the crowd that gathered to welcome Billings -- which consisted primarily of boosters and school administrators, along with several local media members -- is counting on Dobbins being correct in believing that Billings is the one to turn around the Indians' struggling program.

Billings, getting his first collegiate head coaching position, also believes he will be that man, and he seems genuinely excited to receive the opportunity. But he emphasized that he cannot get the job done alone.

"I thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach at Southeast Missouri State, for having the confidence in me and my abilities to direct the football program into the new millennium," said Billings as he donned a brand-new Southeast cap. "I have three goals for our program. One, to graduate student-athletes. Two, to create a positive environment for our players. Three, to win football games. I think that's why I'm here.

"Winning is the by-product of running a successful program. There is no secret to winning. It takes everybody, the coaching staff, the players, the university, the community, everybody. It takes a family.

"I'm not a miracle worker. We have to band together and say, `what is it going to take to build a winning football program.' If we do this, we can win championships."

Billings, 42, has spent the past 10 seasons at Marshall, where he has helped the Thundering Herd become the nation's winningest college football program in the 1990s.

Marshall played for six Division I-AA national championships in seven years, capped by the school's second national title in 1996.

The next season, Marshall made the move up to the I-A level, where the Thundering Herd's success has continued. Marshall has won 34 games over the past three years, including this season's 12-0 mark.

Marshall, ranked 11th nationally, will play Brigham Young in Monday's Motor City Bowl. Billings will coach in that game, then spend a few days with his family before jumping full force into his new job at the beginning of January.

As proud as Billings is about what he has helped Marshall accomplish on the field, he said he's just as proud of the way the Thundering Herd players have performed in the classroom. Marshall has graduated 80 percent of its players and is second in the nation in graduating minority players.

Kaverman, noting Marshall's graduation rate, said, "Tim Billings knows how to win both on the field and in the classroom. This represents a tremendous step forward for our program."

Also a former assistant at the University of Missouri, Billings said two of his immediate tasks when he returns to Cape Girardeau early next month will be to meet with his team and hit the recruiting trail. The signing period begins Feb. 2.

"We're basically going to hit the ground recruiting," he said.

While he did not want to identify any names, Billings said he has already lined up most of the assistant coaches for his new staff. One assistant who was a member of former head coach John Mumford's staff, Rory Segrest, had previously been retained by Southeast.

Even though he has never lived in Cape Girardeau, Billings has ties to the area. His late wife, Terri Eifert, was from Cape, and her parents still live here. Terri Eifert died of cancer last year.

The couples' two children, 9-year-old daughter Taylor and 5-year-old son Trent, who were at their father's side Thursday. Among others in the crowd were his mother-in-law Kay and sister-in-law Tammy.

"This is a great town, with some great people, and it's a great place to raise a family," Billings said.

But Billings emphasized he would not have left Marshall if he didn't believe the Southeast football program had tremendous potential.

"I was ready to have my own program," he said. "But I was happy at Marshall. I wouldn't take any head coaching job. I felt this was a great opportunity. I think it's a diamond in the rough here."

Billings has been given a five-year contract that will pay him an annual base salary of $80,000. That's a marked increase over the salary of Mumford, who was paid a little more $56,000.

The Indians have gone 3-8 in each of the past two seasons. Overall, Mumford had a 10-year record at Southeast of 40-70. He resigned following the Indians' final game this year.