The life Clemon Daniels, the Immediate Past President of the Prairie View A&M University National Alumni Association, wants to live is one that will leave a mark for others to follow. Daniels bleeds purple and gold, but is more passionate about the activity and involvement of alumni in the Alumni Association, or the lack of support might be more accurate. The 35th National President (2005-2009) has lived a life that traces back to McKinney, Texas, where he was raised by his mother and grandmother, Ida Louise Daniels and Mary Johnson, respectively. His father had passed away during his infancy.
Daniels’ ticket to college was earned through an athletic scholarship. In high school, Daniels played fullback and because of his athletic ability, Daniels received offers from across the nation: Ohio State, UCLA and Oregon, just to name a few. He chose Prairie View because of the close proximity to home and 30 to 40% of the teachers of his high school were Prairie View graduates. “Prairie View teachers always seemed to have a certain swagger about them, including my senior advisor, who was also my vice principal,” he said. Another valuable factor in his selection of Prairie View was getting the chance to play for the legendary Coach Billy Nicks.

Daniels majored in physical education with minors in health science and biology. He switched from fullback in high school to running back on Prairie View’s championship teams of the fifties. He is proud of the fact that he was one of two freshmen to be moved up to starting positions on the varsity team during his first year. He captained the 1958 national championship team and never had a losing season. Due to knee injuries to both of his legs his senior year, he didn’t get much playing time, and although he was a pre-season pick for All-American, most of the pro-scouts backed away from selecting him for professional football. Daniels received his degree in 1959 and was commissioned an officer in the US Army Reserve. Daniels completed his 11 week officer training program at Fort Gordon, Georgia and then was assigned to duty at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. While in the army, the American Football League was formed, and the Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs) contacted Daniels. After talking with Coach Nicks, they were interested in signing him. Coach Nicks recommended him and said “he was the best player on the 1958 team.” Although the military is a binding agreement and Daniels had signed up for two years, football was still a major priority for him. Daniels had favor on his side as he had built a relationship with Congressman Ray Roberts from McKinney during the summer of 1959 while working on his campaign. “Upon contacting the Roberts family in March of 1960 in McKinney, and proposing to do more reserve time and get an early release to play pro football, which was consummated within a week, I realized the true importance of political clout,” Daniels said.
Daniels’ went on to play nine years of professional football with the Texans, Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. Daniels currently ranks third in total yards in Oakland Raider history with 5103 yards on 1133 carries. After Daniels retired, he promised Nicks that he would spend ample time to help bring the Prairie View football program back to respectability. He notes that with much hard work from a number of former panthers, alumni chapters and supporters, a successful program was launched to pave the way where we can once again stand tall with proud conviction that we are among the best. After his time in the NFL, Daniels took it upon himself and capitalized on some business ventures. A resident of California and an active member of his community, he opened three retail stores, a sports lounge/restaurant and a real estate management company. Mr. Daniels was also instrumental in founding CalPac Scholarship Fund, Inc. and helped raise over $1.6-million for inner-city students in the state of California.
It is clear to see that Daniels not only loves Prairie View, but HBCUs in general. “We still have a multitude of young African American people all across the land, who will never get a chance to attend college, but through our HBCUs,” Daniels stated. “An HBCU provides the help and support needed for young people to succeed.”
A big goal Daniels is driven to accomplish is to increase the number of graduates who belong to and support the National Alumni Association (NAA). The passion he has for the National Alumni Association is indescribable. “It is absolutely essential for all alumni to join and support the Alumni Association. We are the principle owners of the institution,” Daniels said. “In order for the NAA to become the viable force needed to impact and support our university, we must come together under one umbrella with enough resources to make a difference. We absolutely can not afford to remain fragmented with a lot of satellite organizations across the land. We only have about three-percent of our alumni involved and our present mode of operation limits our productivity to a most harmful degree. We must learn not to be our greatest critic. We must learn to collectively disagree without being disagreeable. We must re-establish the historical principle that states emphatically that “In Unity, there is strength,” Daniels said.
Clemon Daniels and his classmates recently celebrated their 50th Year Golden Anniversary during the 2009 Homecoming activities, recognizing 50 years of service and achievements since graduating in 1959. Congratulations, Mr. Daniels on 50 spectacular years!