A two-time All-America soccer standout at SUNY Cortland in the late 1960's, Era N. Mugisa ’69 returned to his native Uganda where he has been a successful international soccer coach and a primary driving force for the advancement of athletics, physical education and sports science for the past 30 years.
Before attending SUNY Cortland, Mugisa, who hails from Hoima, Uganda, had already made his mark while still in his twenties as the first Ugandan National soccer coach from 1962-64.
At Cortland, he was an all-state selection and a first team All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) pick in 1967 and 1968 for Coach T. Fred “Prof” Holloway’s Red Mules. He earned both his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1969 and his master’s degree in education in 1972 from SUNY Cortland.
He returned to Africa and was lecturer and director of athletics at the National Teachers’ College in Kampala, Uganda between 1970-72. In 1973, he was named sports tutor, the director of athletics, at Makerere University in Kampala. Over the years, he was promoted to principal sports tutor and the head of the Sports Department. He was a lecturer at Kenyatta University in Kenya in 1978-79 and turned down a teaching opportunity at the SUNY Cortland Campus School to return to Uganda after the fall of Idi Amin in 1980. Since 2000, Mugisa has been coordinator of the Bachelor of Sports Science Degree program as a member of the Faculty of Science at Makerere University. The program includes a very competitive intramural program that has been a model for other African universities.
Over the years, Mugisa has created the Uganda Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (UAHPERD), the Uganda Track and Field Athletics Coaches Association (UTFACA), the East Central and Southern African University Sports Association (ECSAUSA), the National University Sports Federation, and the Association for Health and Fitness through Sports, Games and Dance for All (ASHEFIT).
He also stepped in to help keep the East African University Games from collapsing and attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to introduce American football in Africa. He did succeed in his efforts to introduce baseball at Makerere University.
Mugisa has coached national teams to the World University Games in the Soviet Union (1973), Accra-Ghana (1974), Mexico (1979), Canada (1983), Yugoslavia (1987), Germany (1989), England (1991), United States (1993), Japan (1995), Italy (1997), Spain (1999) and China (2001).
Between 1974-78, he was vice president of All-Africa University Sports. He served as chairman of the Ugandan Football Association from 1974-78. He was chairman of both the National Soccer Federation and the Confederation of East and Central Africa Soccer Association from 1975-77. He is also a past president of the Uganda Field Hockey Association and chair of the National Stadium Committee.
Mugisa served as general secretary for a number of organizations — the Uganda Amateur Athletics Federation from 1983-85, the East Central and Southern Africa University Sports Association from 1983-86, and the National University Sports Federation from 1994-2002. He served on a five-person ad hoc committee looking at rejuvenating the All-Africa University Sports Federation.
For his retirement years, he is establishing a private business, Sportsera Center, Ltd., that features a gymnasium for rehabilitation, fitness and testing for individuals of all ages.
Mugisa is married and has seven children - four girls and three boys.
UPDATE: Mugisa passed away on Dec. 1, 2024, at age 85.
