Watson was a college basketball player for the VMI Keydets and began his coaching career at a Virginia high school.

He worked as an assistant coach for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

Watson was hired as the head coach of the Purple Aces in 1977 for their first season as a member of NCAA Division I competition and had amassed a 1–3 record at the time of his death.

[3] Instead of playing professionally, Watson embarked on a coaching career immediately after the end of his college stint and was hired by William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Virginia.

[4] Watson entered the United States Army in 1965 and served two tours in the Vietnam War as a member of the 101st Airborne Division.

[7] Watson desired a head coaching role and discovered a vacancy at Ferrum College while reading a newspaper.

[7] It was the Aces' first season in 31 years without head coach Arad McCutchan, who had led the team to five NCAA Division II championships.

"[9] Watson had an excellent recruitment period and signed nine freshmen to join the team for the 1977–78 season, whom he believed to be "as fine a nucleus as we could have brought in for the coming years.

[11] Shortly after take-off at around 7:20pm from the Evansville Regional Airport,[11] the plane suffered an engine failure and crashed, which killed all 29 people on board.