How do you define success?
When presenting this year's Gerald R. Ford Award to Penn State's Joe Paterno, NCAA President Mark Emmert defined it this way: "He has endeared himself to thousands of student-athletes who have learned through his leadership that success in the classroom and in life is the greatest accomplishment. For me Coach Paterno is the definitive role model of what it means to be a college coach."
Having turned 84 years-old this month and preparing to finish up his 45th head coaching season at the Outback Bowl, Paterno recently told a recruit that he would be around for five to six more years.
Good news, right?
That depends on whom you ask. No matter that he is still successfully impacting the lives of young people, as well as the game of college football, some fans are calling for Paterno – whose team finished the regular season at 7-5 – to retire.
Turning the joy of winning into an obsession, an unhealthy definition of "success" is beginning to reap sad results.
Take Urban Meyer.
Meyer (whose team also finished 7-5) surprised many by announcing his early retirement last month – citing health reasons and the desire to spend more time with family. At the age of 46, he is winner of two national championships and steps down with a 103-23-0 record, including a 6-1 performance in bowl games.
Preparing to face Paterno on New Year's Day Outback Bowl in Tampa, Meyer proclaimed on ESPN, "The game has changed so much – the ability to raise a family and do the things that Coach Paterno has done so well … it is that much more difficult nowadays with the demands on you. What he has done will never be done again – and he has done it the right way."
When it comes to football coaching, Paterno has most certainly "done it the right way." While partnering with his wife to raise a family, Paterno has also managed to partner with his assistant coaches and raise some very impressive teams. A winner of two national championships, he also holds the all-time record for wins (401), bowl wins (24) and most years as head coach at the same Division I college (45), passing Amos Alonzo Stagg. As a matter of fact, the Big Ten Conference recently revealed the name of the award for next year's inaugural Big Ten Championship winner – the Stagg-Paterno Championship trophy.
While few may remember this pioneer of the sport, Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg stands out in history as another winning coach whose life was marked by noble priorities. Looking at his legacy, it stands to reason that Stagg would have been saddened by today's unhealthy emphasis on winning.
Heeding St. Paul's charge, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," Coach Stagg believed he "could influence others to Christian ideals more effectively on the field than in the pulpit."
Withdrawing from Yale Divinity School in 1890, he entered the International YMCA College in Springfield, MA, to be trained as a coach. Two years later, starting with 13 players, Coach Stagg launched the University of Chicago's football program in 1892. He would coach there for 41 years, compiling a 224-112-27 record that included seven Big Ten titles and two national championships.
Coach Stagg's many innovations still remain in the game today. Known as the "Grand Old Man of College Football," his football firsts are too many to list, but a few highlights include: the huddle, flankers and wingbacks, the lateral pass, players sent in motion, the direct snap to a running back (still used in the popular Wildcat formation), the reverse, and the Statue of Liberty play (think Boise State's 2007 Fiesta Bowl game winning overtime play against Oklahoma).
As much a minister of athletics as he was athletic director at the University of Chicago, Coach Stagg saw sports as an important preparation "for the more serious activities of later life."
Going on to coach at three more schools, Coach Stagg finished his head-coaching career with a total of 314 wins at the age of 94, which included many years coaching with his sons.
On Stagg's 100th birthday, President John F. Kennedy declared, "His character and career have been an inspiration since his undergraduate days for countless Americans of all ages. Few men in history have set so persuasive and shining an example as teacher, coach and citizen. His integrity and dedication to all of the goals he has set for himself are unmatched."
That's success.
Reprinted with permission of The Tampa Tribune 2010. All Rights Reserved.
By John A. Murray, Head of School, Fourth Presbyterian School, Potomac, MD
