| Ara Parseghian | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Born | May 21, 1923 | |
| Place of birth | Akron, Ohio | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 170-58-6 | |
| Bowls | 3-2 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Championships | ||
| 1966, 1973 (National) | ||
| Awards | ||
| 1964 Coach of the Year | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1946-47 | Miami (Ohio) | |
| Position | HB | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1964-1974 1956-1963 1951-1955 |
Notre Dame Northwestern Miami (Ohio) |
|
| College Football Hall of Fame, 1980 | ||
Ara Raoul Parseghian (born May 21, 1923 in Akron, Ohio) is a former American collegiate football coach. Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Akron is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Summit County. Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809 A running back ( RB) is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield. For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809 The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1980 in athletics (track and field World Records June 12 &mdash Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Akron is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Summit County. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with He served as head coach for three teams, most notably the University of Notre Dame team from 1964-1974. The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. During his 11 seasons as head coach of the Fighting Irish (known popularly as "the Era of Ara"), he compiled a 95-17-4 record, for a . 836 winning percentage, making him the most successful Notre Dame coach of the modern era.
Contents |
Pre-Notre Dame
After serving in the Navy during World War II, Parseghian played halfback at Miami University and had a short pro career as an RB and DB with the Cleveland Browns during 1948-49 before an injury put an end to his playing days. Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809 The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. With the Browns he had 44 carries for 166 yards, 3 receptions for 33 yards, scored two touchdowns, and intercepted one pass.
Miami University
He launched his coaching career as freshman team coach under Woody Hayes at Miami University in 1950, then was elevated to head coach the following year when Hayes left to assume the head coaching job at Ohio State. Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes ( February 14, 1913 &ndash March 12, 1987) was a College football coach who is best remembered Ara stayed at his alma mater through the 1955 season, compiling a 39-6-1 record, when he was hired by Northwestern.
Northwestern
Parseghian was the 20th head coach for the Northwestern University Wildcats located in Evanston, Illinois and he held that position for eight seasons, from 1956 until 1963. The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, and the only private Evanston Illinois is an affluent suburban Chicago Municipality on Lake Michigan on the North Shore in Cook County, Illinois directly Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. His career coaching record at Northwestern was 36-35-1. This ranks him third at Northwestern in total wins and ninth at Northwestern in winning percentage. [1] It was during his tenure at Northwestern that the Wildcats renewed their series with Notre Dame after a decade-long hiatus. Ara's teams defeated the Irish four straight times.
At Notre Dame
Following a 5-4 season in 1963, a falling out with Northwestern athletic director Stu Holcomb prompted Ara to contact the Rev. Stuart K Holcomb ( September 11, 1910 - January 11, 1977) was an American football and basketball coach best known for serving as Edmund P. Joyce, vice president and chairman of the faculty board in control of athletics at Notre Dame. He asked if Hugh Devore was still an interim head coach and when Father Joyce affirmed that, Ara let it be known he was interested in the job. Hugh Devore ( November 25, 1910 - December 8, 1992) was a football player and coach whose close connection to the University His interest was notable for two reasons: first, he was not a Notre Dame graduate, something that every head coach since Knute Rockne had been; and second, Parseghian was Presbyterian and not Roman Catholic. Knute (pronounced "kah-noot" ("noot" is the anglicized nickname Kenneth Rockne ( March 4, 1888 &ndash March 31, Neither was a prerequisite, especially since Harper, Rockne (who later converted), and McKeever were also not Catholics. After an undisclosed initial disagreement, Parseghian was hired as Notre Dame's 22nd head coach, inheriting a team that had finished 2-7 in 1963 and taking it to within 1:33 of an undefeated season and a national championship in 1964.
Ara's superior organizational skills had a lot to do with this rapid turnaround as well as his ability to put the right players in the right positions. He discovered underutilized talent in quarterback John Huarte and end Jack Snow. These two players went on to set numerous school passing and receiving records and Huarte wound up as the 1964 Heisman Trophy winner, the first non-monogram winner ever to do so. Ara did away with all ornamentation on the players' uniforms, eliminating the shamrocks and shoulder stripes, and switched the team's home jerseys to navy blue. During his tenure, the Irish never wore green jerseys.
During the Era of Ara, the Irish won two national championships in 1966 and 1973, and the 1964 edition was also awarded the MacArthur Bowl. In 1969, the Notre Dame administration changed its policy that had forbidden the team from playing in bowl games. Parseghian led the team to its first bowl game since Rockne coached the team, the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1970, losing 21-17 to the eventual national champion Texas Longhorns. The Irish avenged that loss in the 1971 Cotton Bowl, defeating the Longhorns, 24-11. However, for all of his success at Notre Dame, Parseghian just couldn't seem to get through a season without a loss or tie and was labeled as being unable to win the big ones. He was accused of playing for a tie against Michigan State in 1966 in one of the most memorable games in college football history. He defended his logic by maintaining that several key starters had been knocked out of action early in the game and that he didn't want to spoil a courageous comeback from a 10-0 deficit by risking a turnover deep in his own territory late in the game that could hand the game over to the Spartans.
Finally in 1973, Ara had his perfect season that had eluded him, topped off by a thrilling 24-23 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. He considered retiring on top after that game, but later decided to stay on. The Irish would have most of their starters back in 1974 and were favored to repeat as national champions. Then six players were suspended for violating school rules and several other key players were injured. An upset loss to underdog Purdue all but derailed the team's hopes to repeat as national champions. All of this, combined with the ever-present pressure to win took its toll, and he privately decided after the eighth game to resign at the end of the season for the sake of his health. However, his resignation was not publicized until mid-December. Notre Dame's 13-11 win over Alabama in a rematch in the Orange Bowl enabled Parseghian to go out on a winning note. He was succeeded by Dan Devine. Dan Devine ( December 22, 1924 - May 9, 2002) was a football coach who served as head coach at three colleges and also served
Ara planned to take one year off from coaching and see if he still "felt the itch" to return afterwards. He ruled out taking a sabbatical leave from Notre Dame, feeling that it would be unfair to have an assistant run the program, only to have to step aside after one year. Since he regarded Notre Dame as the pinnacle of collegiate coaching jobs, he would only entertain offers from the pros. His last coaching appearance was with the College All-Stars against the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on July 24, 1976 at Chicago's Soldier Field. The game was halted in the second half when a torrential thunderstorm broke out and play was never resumed. It was the last such game ever played.
It was during Parseghian's tenure at Notre Dame that the school's long-dormant football rivalry with Michigan was revived. Although the two schools are neighbors and despite the fact that Michigan had introduced the game of football to Notre Dame, they had not met on the gridiron since 1943. While athletic directors Moose Krause and Don Canham were credited for reaching an agreement to resume the series, Ara's close friendship with Wolverine head coach Bo Schembechler had a lot to do with it, too. Edward Walter "Moose" Krause (Kriaučiūnas ( February 2, 1913 – December 11, 1992) was a well-known collegiate Basketball Donald Canham ( April 27, 1918 - May 3, 2005) served as athletic director at the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1988 Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr ( April 1 1929 &ndash November 17 2006) was an American College football Unfortunately, Ara never had a chance to coach against his former assistant at Northwestern, as he had already left Notre Dame by the time the two teams squared off in 1978.
Post Notre Dame
After leaving Notre Dame, Parseghian entered private business. He also served as a color analyst for ABC Sports from 1975 to 1981 and for CBS Sports from 1982 to 1988. Every so often, his deep feelings for Notre Dame would surface when he was covering games that involved the Irish.
Ara's career record was 170-58-6. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980, the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named an honorary Notre Dame alumnus in 1974. The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond Indiana. He is also a member of the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ara served as one of two honorary coaches along with Lou Holtz in Notre Dame's 2007 Spring Game. Louis Leo Holtz (born on January 6 1937 in Follansbee West Virginia) is an author television commentator motivational speaker and former NCAA Holtz's Gold Team defeated Ara's Blue team, 10-6.
In 2007 Notre Dame unveiled a statue in his honor, which depicts players carrying him off the field in triumph following the 1971 Cotton Bowl.
Personal life
Ara is married to the former Kathleen Davis. They are parents of three children.
He founded the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation which is seeking a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NP-C), a genetic, pediatric, neurodegenerative disorder responsible for the build-up of cholesterol in cells, resulting in eventual damage to the nervous system. Three of his grandchildren, Michael, Marcia, and Christa Parseghian, died from this disease. He is also active in the cause to find a cure for multiple sclerosis; his daughter, Karan, was diagnosed with the disease.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Rank# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami RedHawks (Mid-American) (1951 – 1955) | |||||||||
| 1951 | Miami | 7-3-0 | 3-1-0 | 2 | unranked | ||||
| 1952 | Miami | 8-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 2 | unranked | ||||
| 1953 | Miami | 7-1-1 | 3-0-1 | 2 | unranked | ||||
| 1954 | Miami | 8-1-0 | 4-0-0 | 1 | unranked | ||||
| 1955 | Miami | 9-0-0 | 5-0-0 | 1 | 15th AP, 20th UPI | ||||
| Miami: | 39-6-1 | 19-2-1 | |||||||
| Northwestern Wildcats (Big 10) (1956 – 1963) | |||||||||
| 1956 | Northwestern | 4-4-1 | 3-3-1 | 6 | unranked | ||||
| 1957 | Northwestern | 0-9-0 | 0-7-0 | 10 | unranked | ||||
| 1958 | Northwestern | 5-4-0 | 3-4-0 | 7 | unranked | ||||
| 1959 | Northwestern | 6-3-0 | 4-3-0 | 5 | unranked | ||||
| 1960 | Northwestern | 5-4-0 | 3-4-0 | 5-T | unranked | ||||
| 1961 | Northwestern | 4-5-0 | 3-4-0 | 7-T | unranked | ||||
| 1962 | Northwestern | 7-2-0 | 4-2-0 | 3 | unranked | ||||
| 1963 | Northwestern | 5-4-0 | 3-4-0 | 5-T | unranked | ||||
| Northwestern: | 36-35-1 | 22-31-1 | |||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent) (1964 – 1974) | |||||||||
| 1964 | Notre Dame | 9-1-0 | - | - | 3rd AP & UPI | ||||
| 1965 | Notre Dame | 7-2-1 | - | - | 9th AP, 8th UPI | ||||
| 1966 | Notre Dame | 9-0-1 | - | - | 1st AP & UPI | ||||
| 1967 | Notre Dame | 8-2-0 | - | - | 5th AP, 4th UPI | ||||
| 1968 | Notre Dame | 7-2-1 | - | - | 5th AP, 8th UPI | ||||
| 1969 | Notre Dame | 8-2-1 | - | - | L 21-17 Cotton | 5th AP, 9th UPI | |||
| 1970 | Notre Dame | 10-1-0 | - | - | W 24-11 Cotton | 2nd AP, 5th UPI | |||
| 1971 | Notre Dame | 8-2-0 | - | - | 13th AP, 15th UPI | ||||
| 1972 | Notre Dame | 8-3-0 | - | - | L 40-6 Orange Bowl | 14th AP, 12th UPI | |||
| 1973 | Notre Dame | 11-0-0 | - | - | W 24-23 Sugar Bowl | 1st AP & 4th UPI(*) | |||
| 1974 | Notre Dame | 10-2-0 | - | - | W 13-11 Orange Bowl | 6th AP, 4th UPI | |||
| Notre Dame: | 95-17-4 | - | |||||||
| Total: | 170-58-6 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. Miami University, in Oxford Ohio, features 18 different varsity level sports teams for men and women all of which are known as the Miami RedHawks. The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, and the only private The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame. The Cotton Bowl Classic is a United States College football Bowl game played annually since 1937 at the self-named stadium in Dallas Texas The Cotton Bowl Classic is a United States College football Bowl game played annually since 1937 at the self-named stadium in Dallas Texas The Orange Bowl is an annual College football game that is usually played the first week in January in the Miami Florida metro area in the United States The Sugar Bowl is an annual American College football Bowl game played in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana. The Orange Bowl is an annual College football game that is usually played the first week in January in the Miami Florida metro area in the United States #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I-A College football and Division I | |||||||||
(*) Before the 1974 season, the final coaches poll, also known then as the UPI Poll, was released before the bowl games, so a team that lost its bowl game could still claim the UPI national championship. This was changed as a result of Alabama claiming the 1973 coaches' poll national championship despite losing to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Final ranking taken prior to bowl games until 1968(AP) & 1974 (UPI)
References
Pagna, Tom, "Notre Dame's Era of Ara" (Diamond Communications, Inc. , South Bend, IN, 1976) ISBN 0-912083-74-3
ESPN College Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game (ESPN Books, New York, NY, 2005) ISBN 1-4013-3703-1
http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PARSEARA01
External links
- Hickok Sports bio
- College Football Hall of Fame
- College Football Data Warehouse
- Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation
- http://www.attcottonbowl.com/news_room/releases.php?uid=171
| Preceded by Woody Hayes |
Miami University Head Football Coach 1951–1955 |
Succeeded by John Pont |
| Preceded by Lou Saban |
Northwestern University Head Football Coach 1956-1963 |
Succeeded by Alex Agase |
| Preceded by Hugh Devore |
University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach 1964–1974 |
Succeeded by Dan Devine |
| Preceded by Darrell Royal |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1964 |
Succeeded by Duffy Daugherty |
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