Slater leaves Tuskegee second on the all-time wins list at the HBCU with the most wins in black college football history.  The NCAA officially lists the Golden Tigers with 699 collegiate victories, but has not given Tuskegee credit for four forfeit victories assigned over the years, thus giving Tuskegee an unofficial tally of 703 victories.  Slater has a 121-47 record at Tuskegee, his only collegiate head coaching job.  His 16 years and 121 victories only trail Cleve Abbott (203-96-28 in 32 seasons) in the history of this storied program.  Slater’s win percentage of .720 (121-47, 16 seasons) places him third behind Rick Comegy (90-26, .776 in 10 seasons) and LeRoy Smith (42-13-3, .750 in 6 seasons). 

His individual accomplishments at Tuskegee include The Pigskin Club of Washington, DC and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network National Coach of the Year in 2007, and 5-time SIAC Coach of the Year (2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014).  Slater has coached two American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-Americans during his tenure at Tuskegee in Matthew Reece (2013) and Jewell Ratliff (2015). Slater has had more than 60 All-SIAC selections during the tenure of Willie Slater, which ranks him first among Tuskegee coaches.

The 65-year old Coffeeville, Alabama native, is in the University of West Alabama (formerly Livingston University) Hall of Fame (inducted 2014) as a player.  Slater was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Tigers from 1974-77, helping lead UWA to the 1975 NCAA playoffs and a victory over top ranked North Dakota. Slater led the Tigers in rushing for three consecutive seasons (1975-77) and his 20 touchdowns scored is 10th on the UWA all-time list. He is still ninth on the all-time Tiger rushing list with 1,582 yards.