2008 Woodie Awards
Loyal athletes make Miami sports unique
Ben Garbarek
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Sports
As the final pages of my college career are inked and I increasingly feel like Billy Madison shaking the chubby kid telling him never to leave school, I wanted to take a look back at what Miami athletics really mean.
Many arrive in Oxford with high expectations of college sports and leave unfulfilled by mid-major competition. Miami is not a Big Ten school and quite frankly, I kind of like it that way.
I've watched a lot of highs and lows, thrilling victories and heartbreaking defeats, but one thing has remained constant: the love of the game. From Doug Penno's unforgettable shot and Justin Mercier's game-winning overtime goal in the NCAA Tournament to an Independence Bowl defeat in 2004 and a disappointing Michigan series at the Goggin, Miami has had plenty of memorable moments the past four years.
Like those cheesy NCAA commercials say, most Division I athletes go professional in something besides sports. Miami epitomizes this. Sure we have seen some successful athletes leave the Mile Square to play in the NBA, NFL and NHL, but the RedHawks produce only a handful of professional players a year. The vast majority end their athletic careers here in Oxford. This is college athletics at its purest.
The best example has to be men's basketball head coach Charlie Coles. Coles played at Miami from 1963-65 and has devoted much of his life to the game of basketball and Miami. After a head-coaching job at Central Michigan, he came back to Oxford as an assistant coach. Seems trivial, but how many other Division I head coaches take an assistant job just to return to their alma mater. I don't think too many people have that kind of dedication to their institution like Coles.
Coles also suffered a heart attack during the MAC Tournament in 1998 and could have easily justified retirement because of his health concerns. His love for the game brought him back to coach Miami's most successful hardwood team to the Sweet Sixteen.
That's dedication.
Many arrive in Oxford with high expectations of college sports and leave unfulfilled by mid-major competition. Miami is not a Big Ten school and quite frankly, I kind of like it that way.
I've watched a lot of highs and lows, thrilling victories and heartbreaking defeats, but one thing has remained constant: the love of the game. From Doug Penno's unforgettable shot and Justin Mercier's game-winning overtime goal in the NCAA Tournament to an Independence Bowl defeat in 2004 and a disappointing Michigan series at the Goggin, Miami has had plenty of memorable moments the past four years.
Like those cheesy NCAA commercials say, most Division I athletes go professional in something besides sports. Miami epitomizes this. Sure we have seen some successful athletes leave the Mile Square to play in the NBA, NFL and NHL, but the RedHawks produce only a handful of professional players a year. The vast majority end their athletic careers here in Oxford. This is college athletics at its purest.
The best example has to be men's basketball head coach Charlie Coles. Coles played at Miami from 1963-65 and has devoted much of his life to the game of basketball and Miami. After a head-coaching job at Central Michigan, he came back to Oxford as an assistant coach. Seems trivial, but how many other Division I head coaches take an assistant job just to return to their alma mater. I don't think too many people have that kind of dedication to their institution like Coles.
Coles also suffered a heart attack during the MAC Tournament in 1998 and could have easily justified retirement because of his health concerns. His love for the game brought him back to coach Miami's most successful hardwood team to the Sweet Sixteen.
That's dedication.
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