HALL OF FAME FEATURE: Todd Parsons '07

Todd Parsons’ road to becoming an Averett University Athletics Hall of Famer was the result of working hard and raising his level of play in a competitive environment. It also was made possible by a few life audibles that both landed the quarterback at Averett as a transfer and kept him here for an extra year to ultimately help the program win its first conference title.

Parsons, a 2007 graduate, finished his career with 4,662 passing yards and 42 passing touchdowns while being among the most efficient passers in program history. Parsons will be inducted into the Averett Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 17 as part of Homecoming.

Despite his football prowess, it was academics that attracted Parsons to Averett. A native of Easton, Pennsylvania, Parsons began his collegiate career about an hour away from home at Albright College. Although he had football there, he said he was still unsure of his academic path.  

“I really didn’t know what I wanted to study or pursue,” Parsons recalled. “Honestly, I was just going to class with no direction.”

The son of a coach, Pasons grew up on the sidelines. He realized he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and get into physical education to give him an opportunity to coach at a high school or college. That’s when Averett entered the picture. When looking to transfer, Parsons researched institutions that offered physical education. That’s when he learned about Averett.  

“Averett had a physical education major, and they also had the sports management and a minor in coaching,” Parsons said. “So it was perfect. And I knew that it was Year 4 of the football program, so I knew there may be a good opportunity for me to come down there and make an impact maybe a little sooner than at some other schools.”

Parsons arrived at Averett in August 2003 and joined a quarterback group that also included Hall of Famer Scott Swann, who was entering his sophomore season.

“After spending one year in college and then starting over, I had something to prove,” Parsons said. “I came in there and put my head down and just wanted to go to work. I was fortunate enough for them to give me some opportunities early on. … I had the opportunity to push and compete with Scott that first year.”

Although Parsons saw action in his first two seasons at Averett, it wasn’t until Swann’s injury at the start of the 2005 season that catapulted Parsons into the starting lineup regularly. Parsons picked up right where the senior Swann left off, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns over the final nine games once becoming the starter.  

“We spent three out of our four years on the same roster,” Parsons said of his time as teammates with Swann. “That was the best thing about it. We had a great friendship off the field, but it was the competition level that we raised each other to.”

In the process, he helped the Cougars go 7-3 that season — the best record for Averett in the program’s first six seasons. Averett also notched its first-ever win over then-conference foe Christopher Newport University on its way to a third-place finish in the conference standings

That was almost it for Parsons and his collegiate playing career. Almost.  

An injury earlier in his career left the door open for a medical hardship waiver. Parsons applied for it. And then he waited. He was hoping to get a fifth year but if it didn’t happen, he was planning to help coach or do his internship with the football program. With only a few weeks until the start of the season, Parsons was granted the waiver — and a chance to do something special with a veteran team primed for a championship run in 2006.

“It was good for me,” Parsons said. “I wanted that year back not only for myself, but that’s also the class I came in there with. So I had a better connection with them. A lot of them were impact players. You had the Jeff Hughleys, the Kyle Wilsons, the Brian Hastedts on offense. Those coaches gave us the opportunity to play when we were younger and play for four years and reap the rewards. … The expectations were high for us going into that season, and once I got that year back, I was almost in tears.”

Parsons did his best to make the most of it.

“I had the opportunity to play against (University of) Mount Union and Wesley (College), two top-10 teams in the country right off the bat,” he said. “That’s what I enjoyed the most that year. We got to compete at a different level than we probably had in previous years to see where we were at, not only as a team that year but as a program. It was four years of us being there and the coaches being there. It was kind of a measuring stick of how far you’ve come.”

Despite the 0-2 start against the two national powerhouses, Averett finished non-conference play with a win over Guilford College before starting their march through the USA South Athletic Conference. By late October, the Cougars were 5-0 in conference play after taking down Shenandoah University on the road. Earlier that day, Christopher Newport suffered its first loss, setting up essentially a battle for the championship the following week when the two teams met in Newport News, Virginia.  

“We scored 31 points in the first half and didn’t score in the second half and ended up losing 41-31,” Parsons said of the matchup with CNU. “It was tough, but the upperclassmen and the coaches did a good job of letting us know we still had one game left and if we won it, we’d be sharing the conference title. We might not be going to the NCAA playoffs, but you’re still a conference champion at that point.”

Parsons and his fellow seniors went out in style that final week of the season at home against Maryville College. Averett won 58-44 to clinch a share of the conference title — the first in program history — and Parsons dominated during his senior day send-out. He threw for 361 yards on 16 completions with three touchdowns that day, and was rewarded with D3football.com Team of the Week honors following the performance.

“It was just a good feeling doing it at home with that group of guys was awesome,” he said. 

As his collegiate playing career progressed at Averett, Parsons continued on the academic path to coaching. He took his first step toward a coaching career by interning with the football program in the spring of 2007.

“They helped me out a ton,” Parsons said of then-head coach Mike Dunleavy and his staff. “There wasn’t any job they wouldn’t let me do. They had me on the phone with recruits, helping out with the spring practice and helping out with recruiting visits. I put together a resume.”

Parsons also gained valuable knowledge in the classroom.  

“The direction I took academically there with the physical education with the minor in coaching was really unique,” he said. “I thought the professors down there — Barbara Kushubar, Dr. Tommy Foster, Dr. Richard Ferguson — they were great and kept my interest in it and I wanted to do more and more.”

Following graduating from Averett, Parsons began his coaching journey. He was a graduate assistant at McDaniel College from 2007-10 while earning his master’s degree in athletic administration. He then worked his way to offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Salve Regina University from 2010-13. After a year at Assumpton College, he was named the passing game coordinator at Division I Brown University, where he stayed until 2017. Following a one-year stint at Bentley University as offensive coordinator, he found his current home at Endicott College, where he has served as offensive coordinator since 2019.

When Parsons received the call that he would be a part of the Hall of Fame, he was ecstatic to be considered.

“I know there have been some really good ones that have come through there,” he said. “I think it’s more rewarding looking at it football-specific looking at the guys who are in there. A lot of them are teammates. That makes it even better. Maybe someone looks at it one day and says, ‘Man, these teams from 2003-06 must have been decent.’”

A mobile quarterback who could also throw at a high efficiency, Parsons finished his career with the program record for total offensive yards in a career with 4,848 yards and 42 passing touchdowns. He still owns those marks and ranks among the top three in many passing categories.

“Todd Parsons was successful at the quarterback position for three reasons,” said J.D. Shaw, former Averett offensive coordinator who coached Parsons. “First he was very detailed in his preparation. He studied our opponents but he also studied himself. Second, he was a tremendous talent. He could run and throw as well as a lot of Division I guys I've seen. And last, he loved to compete. He never shrank from a challenge. He had the ability to overcome just about anything. I loved coaching him.”