On December 1, Sylvester Croom made the record books. As the new head football coach at Mississippi State, he is the first African American to hold the position in the Southeastern Conference. Croom, 49, grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "At that time, there were two worlds," he says. "One was black; one was white." Croom, who has 28 years of coaching experience, has helped bring those two worlds together.