University of Memphis Athletics
M Club Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1982
Doug Mayo came to West Tennessee State Teachers College in 1937 and played for the Tiger football team in 1937 and 1938. A junior college transfer from Tennessee Junior College, Mayo played guard for head coach Allyn McKeen. The 1938 football went undefeated and remains the only football team in Tiger history to have a undefeated and untied season. Following graduation in 1939, Mayo had three successful seasons as a high school coach at Somerville High (TN) and Magnolia High School (MS). He was called into military service after the attack on Pearl Harbor and enrolled in the Naval Reserve Midshipman program. He served as an officer for the remainder of World War II. Following the war, Mayo received orders to report to Rice University in Houston, Texas, to teach Naval Science and Tactics. With a master’s degree from George Peabody College, Mayo enrolled in the doctoral program at Ohio State University in psychology and received his Ph.D. in 1949. He taught psychology at Birmingham-Southern University for two years before accepting a position in personnel and training at the Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee. He joined the staff at the University of Memphis in 1967 to start the Center for Instructional Service and Research. He and his wife remain highly involved with their alma mater.
