Coach Rankins...Get Down Tigers

In 1969, Monroe City Schools integrated, and Coach Rankins was sent to Neville High School as punishment. However, he turned this into a blessing by working hard for the students at Neville High School. Coach Rankins was a man of God, who professed God as his Lord and Savior. He was a member of Solomon Temple Baptist Church for all his life, growing up in the church as a child and remaining faithful as an adult churchgoer.

Coach Rankins was a special guy who did things his way, not caring what others thought of him. He lived his life for the students of Monroe City Schools and Neville High School. Many did not always understand his tactics, but he simply showed a different kind of love only Coach Rankins could bestow.

As the Neville High School Dean of Students, Coach Rankins was a strong disciplinarian who was well respected. He attended every event and started the Neville Clean Team, cleaning the football stadium on Saturdays. Coach Rankins could walk into the Neville auditorium filled with students and say once, "Get down Tigers" and afterward, you could hear mice peeing on cotton ten miles away - he had that kind of respect until his final season.

Coach Rankins passed away on Saturday, November 18, 2023. Public visitation is Thursday, November 30, 2023, 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Solomon Temple Baptist Church at 700 Atkinson St. in Monroe, LA. Funeral services are Friday, December 1, 2023, 11:00 AM at Greater Free Gift Baptist Church on Hwy 165 Bypass in Monroe, LA. Burial will take place at Richwood Memorial Gardens in Richwood, LA. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 12:00 NOON at Neville High School, Bill Ruple Stadium, 600 Forsythe Ave. in Monroe, LA.