Cradle of Coaches

The Cradle of Coaches is a nickname given to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for its history of producing successful sports coaches, especially in football. Bob Kurz, a former Miami sports communications worker, popularized the term in a 1983 book, though the school's association with the nickname goes as far back as the early 1960s. Miami frequently inducts former coaches into the Cradle of Coaching Association for their feats as alumni.

Personnel

The program's largest cohort are football coaches Earl Blaik, Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bill Arnsparger, George Little, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, John Pont, Carmen Cozza, Bill Mallory, Joe Novak, Ron Zook, Dick Crum, Paul Dietzel, Bill Narduzzi, Randy Walker, John Harbaugh, Nobby Wirkowski, Gary Moeller, Larry Smith, Dick Tomey, Terry Hoeppner, and Sean McVay.

Miami has also produced notable basketball coaches Darrell Hedric, Randy Ayers, Herb Sendek, Thad Matta and Sean Miller. Hedric, currently a scout for the Toronto Raptors, is an Ohio and Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Famer and holds the record for Miami victories. Ayers was a four-year starter for Miami, leading the team to back-to-back NCAA appearances in 1977 and 1978, and later served as a head coach for Ohio State and assistant coach in the National Basketball Association. Sendek began his head coaching career at Miami and led the RedHawks to the postseason in each of his three seasons. Matta, formerly the head coach at Ohio State, was an assistant under Sendek for one memorable year that included a regular season MAC championship and NCAA tournament appearance, and also for one year under then-head coach Charlie Coles. University of Tennessee basketball coach Ray Mears is also a graduate of Miami.

Baseball Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston is also a graduate of Miami. Additionally, hockey coach George Gwozdecky served as head coach at Miami prior to leaving for Denver, where he won two national championships.

The Cradle of Coaches also was the subject of sports documentary film that aired on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (Ohio) in 2015. ^[1] The film captured the story of John Harbaugh's induction as well as perspective from other members.

LA Rams head coach Sean McVay

Yager Stadium at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Cradle of Coaches - Super Bowl Champions

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is known as the "Cradle of Coaches." The phrase was coined by former Miami (Ohio) sports information director Bob Kurz. ^[2]

The success of coaches with Miami ties is well documented. Recently, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and LA Rams head coach Sean McVay, both Miami graduates, have coached Super Bowl champions. Three N.F.L. head coaches, who are also Miami University graduates, have coached their teams to victories on the sports biggest stage.

Harbaugh coached the Ravens to the World Championship on February 3, 2013, a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. ^[3]

McVay coached the Rams to the World Championship on February 13, 2022, a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. ^[4]

Weeb Ewbank (Miami, 1924) coached the New York Jets to the World Championship on January 12, 1969, a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts. ^[5]

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh

Cradle of Coaches Association inductees

Induction year	Name	Sport (current coaching position)	Miami class of
1992	Weeb Ewbank	Football	1928
1992	Bob Kurz	Football	1958
1992	Bill Narduzzi	Football	1959
1992	John Pont	Football	1952
1993	Paul Brown	Football	1930
1993	Mel Knowlton	Football	1937
1993	Ara Parseghian	Football	1949
1994	Bill Arnsparger	Football	1950
1994	Paul Dietzel	Football	1948
1994	Jack Llewellyn	Football
1995	Jack Faulkner	Football
1995	Joe Codiano	Football
1995	Bill Mallory	Football	1957
1996	John Brickels	Football
1996	Hal Paul
1996	Dick Shrider	Basketball
1997	Jerry Hanlon	Football	1956
1997	John McVay	Football
1997	Frank Shands
1998	Carmen Cozza	Football, baseball	1952
1998	Marvin Moorehead
1998	Ernie Plank	Football	1950
2001	Dick Crum	Football
2001	Darrell Hedric	Basketball	1955
2001	Lou Kaczmarek	Football	1950
2001	Rich Voiers	Basketball	1957
2001	Walter Alston	Baseball	1935
2001	Earl Blaik	Football	1918
2001	Leann Davidge	Tennis
2001	Woody Hayes	Football
2001	Raymond Ray
2001	George Rider	Football, baseball, basketball, track, cross country
2001	William Rohr	Basketball
2002	Peggy Bradley-Doppes	Volleyball (UNC Wilmington Director of Athletics)
2002	Denny Marcin	Football (New York Jets)	1964
2002	Nick Mourouzis	Football (DePauw)	1959
2002	Jim Rose	Basketball	1951
2002	Marvin McCollum	Basketball	1948
2002	Ron Zook	Football	1976
2004	Rodger Cromer
2004	Carol Clark Johnson
2004	Clarence McDade
2004	Ron Niekamp	Basketball (Findlay)	1972
2004	Bo Schembechler	Football	1951
2006	George Dales
2006	George Gwozdecky	Ice Hockey (University of Denver)
2006	Danny Hall	Baseball (Georgia Tech)
2006	Bob Kappes
2006	Stephen Strome
2006	Randall Whitehead
2008	Terry Hoeppner	Football
2008	Randy Walker	Football
2011	Jerry Angelo	Football	1971
2011	Elaine Hieber
2011	Dave Jennings	Swimming
2011	Rob Patrick
2011	Gary Quisno
2011	Pam Wettig
2014	John Harbaugh	Football (Baltimore Ravens)	1984
2016	Todd Spohn	Diving	1986
2017	Sean McVay	Football (Los Angeles Rams)	2008

Super Bowl winning former head coach John Harbaugh was inducted in their Hall of Fame in 2014. ^[6]

The Mother of Coaches

The McGuffey Reader, the Mother of Fraternities, The Miami Triad (Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Chi)..all these were attributed to Miami University (founded in 1809) in Oxford, Ohio.

In the fall of 1959, Bob Kurz, Sports Information Director and a recent graduate (1958) recounted that several Miami graduates were making history on the football field. Louisiana State University under Paul Dietzel (1948), was listed as number 1 in the country. Northwestern University under Ara Parseghian (1948) was number 2; Earl (Red) Blaik (1918) was leading Army to an undefeated season while Paul Brown (1930) was guiding the Cleveland Browns and Weeb Eubank (1928) was leading the Baltimore Colts. Both pro teams were on top of their divisions.

It was a short leap from the ‘mother’ moniker to a cradle: The next day Kurz wrote the phrase that has become synonymous with Miami University football, Miami of Ohio, the Cradle of Coaches. His book on the history of Miami's coaches was written in 1983.

Miami (Ohio) graduate and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.

The Cradle of Coaches sculpture group

A sculptural group called The Cradle of Coaches, by sculptor Kristen Visbal, was erected at Miami University between 2009 and 2011, with one addition in 2014. It consists of ten 120% lifesize statues of Earl Blaik, Paul Brown, Carm Cozza, Paul Dietzel, Weeb Ewbank, John Harbaugh, Ara Parseghian, John Pont, Bo Schembechler, Thomas Van Voorhis, and Sean McVay. ^[7]

See also

• List of Miami University people
• Miami RedHawks

References

1. "Time Warner Cable Sports Channel will have an hour long documentary on the Cradle of Coaches". Miami University. January 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
2. Kurz, Bob (2002). Miami, Ohio - The Cradle of Coaches. Dayton Daily News.
3. Robinson, Alan (4 February 2013). "Ravens Hold off 49ers to Capture 2nd Super Bowl Title". Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
4. Plaschke, Bill (February 13, 2022). "Los Angeles, You've Got Another Champion. Make Room for the Rams". Los Angeles Times.
5. Lyer, Vinnie (February 2012). ""No2: Super Bowl III."". Sporting News. Vol. 236, no. 2. p. 48.
6. "Miami (OH) to honor John Harbaugh". ESPN.com . Associated Press. February 26, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
7. "Cradle of Coaches". Kristen Visbal. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.

External links

• Cradle of Coaches Archive, Miami University Libraries