Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University RedHawks
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Feb. 8, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio - Throughout the sports world, Miami University is recognized as "The Cradle of Coaches" because of the number of coaching legends who began their careers on the Oxford campus. On Feb. 15, at halftime of the Miami vs. Marshall basketball game, Miami will honor six people who, by virtue of their accomplishments, have been integral parts of this unique phenomenon in American sports history.
The 2002 class includes Peggy Bradley-Doppes, Denny Marcin, Nick Mourouzis, Jim Rose, Ron Zook and, posthumously, Marvin McCollum.
A Cincinnati native and 1979 graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph, Bradley-Doppes was the third head women's volleyball coach at Miami, beginning her tenure in 1979. She went on to coach the Red and White for five years, putting together an overall record of 160-67 and leading Miami to its first two Mid-American Conference championships. In 1981, her squad won the MAC title and finished 41-10, earning Miami its first trip to the NCAA Tournament and its second straight berth in a national tournament. After leaving Oxford, Doppes headed to Chapel Hill, N.C., where she directed the Tarheels from 1984-90. There she became the youngest coach to achieve 300 wins, a distinction she still holds today. After leaving North Carolina in 1990, she spent one year as head coach at the University of Michigan before becoming a Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Women's Administrator for the Wolverines. In August of 1999, following a successful stint in Ann Arbor, Bradley-Doppes was named Director of Athletics at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where, in just five years, she has grown the program rapidly in size and stature.
Marcin, a 1964 graduate of Miami, has made his name as one of the NFL's top defensive line coaches since joining the New York Giants in 1997. During Marcin's five-year tenure, the Giants have become one of the most consistent defenses in the league , led by left end Michael Strahan, who Marcin has coached to four Pro Bowls and an NFL-record 22.5 sacks in 2001. Prior to joining the Giants staff, Marcin's coaching career saw him travel far and wide not only across the United States but also to the far reaches of the globe, spending two seasons (1993 and 1995) as a "guest coach" for the Konan University football team in Japan. Just before joining the Giants, Marcin was the defensive line coach for the University of Illinois for nine seasons (1988-96). In his time with the Illini, he coached two NFL first-round draft picks in Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy. Prior to his stint at Illinois, Marcin spent 10 years at the University of North Carolina (1978-87) where he sent 24 players to the NFL, including Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Marcin started his coaching career at Miami in 1974, when he served as a defensive coordinator and then assistant head coach. In those four years at Miami, the Red and White won three MAC championships and went an impressive 34-10-2. In his playing days (1961-63), under then-head coach John Pont, Marcin helped Miami capture the 1962 MAC title going 8-2-1 overall and earning a trip to the Tangerine Bowl.
McCollum, Miami class of 1948, is one of Southwestern Ohio's legendary high school boys basketball coaches, totaling a record of 485-143. In 1962, he coached an undefeated Hamilton Taft to the Class AA championship and earned himself the Associated Press Ohio Coach of the Year. From 1968-70, he was the President of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches' Association and in 1982 earned the association's Paul Walker Award for his contributions to high school basketball. In 1987, McCollum's hard work and coaching success culminated in his coaching peers inducting him into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
Mourouzis, a 1959 graduate of Miami, is in his 22nd season as head football coach of the DePauw University Tigers, posting a 133-82-4 record. Mourouzis, the winningest coach in DePauw history, ranks 12th among active NCAA Division III coaches in victories and 44th in winning percentage among active coaches with at least five years of head coaching experience. Only six Division III coaches with at least 20 years as a head coach have a higher winning percentage. Mourouzis was named the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference (SCAC) Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading the Tigers to a share of their first SCAC title. In his 32 years of coaching (1960-present), Mourouzis has had a variety of coaching experiences, spending time at the University of Indiana and Northwestern University under John Pont and at MAC schools such as Ball State and Ohio. One of his legacies is the founding of the first national scholar-athlete honor society, which he started in 1996. The organization, Chi Alpha Sigma, currently has 58 chapters in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
One of the more accomplished high school basketball coaches in Ohio High School history, Rose graduated from Miami University in 1951. That next Fall, he took over his high school alma mater's junior varsity boys basketball program at Oxford McGuffey High School in Oxford, Ohio. That began a 20-year coaching odyssey (1951-72) that saw Rose post a combined 255-134 record as boys basketball coach at Lemon Monroe High School (1952-53), Urbana High School (1954-56) and Bedford High School (1956-72). During that time, he was named Greater Cleveland Conference Coach of the Year at Bedford nine times and also served as Bedford's Director of Athletics for 25 years. He led his Bedford teams to eight Cleveland Conference championships and two sectional tournament titles. He was the first chairman and organizer of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
After 25 years in the business of coaching, Zook, a 1976 Miami graduate, took over one of college football's most prestigious jobs at the University of Florida last season. Since his playing days at Miami, Zook, a former Miami walk-on, has succeeded on both the professional and collegiate levels. His path to the pinnacle of college coaching began as a mainstay defensive back on Miami's 1973-75 squads that posted a 34-1-1 record. Prior to heading to Florida in 2002, Zook was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, where his defense ranked third in the NFC in total defense in 2000 and posted an NFL-leading 119 sacks from 2000-01. In his professional career, he has coached for three NFL franchises including Pittsburgh, Kansas City and New Orleans, and won divisional championships in 1996-97 (Pittsburgh) and 2000 (New Orleans). In the collegiate ranks, Zook has coached for five Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship teams (four at Florida and one at Tennessee). During his career, he has taken part in an impressive 13 bowl games.
For information or to make reservations for the Cradle of Coaches Luncheon on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. at the Shriver Center Heritage Room, call the Miami Athletic Ticket Office at (513) 529-3924
Cradle of Coaches Association - Inductees
1992
Weeb Ewbank
Bob Kurz
Bill Narduzzi
John Pont
1993
Paul Brown
Mel Knowlton
Ara Parseghian
1994
Bill Arnsparger
Paul Dietzel
Jack Llewellyn
1995
Jack Faulkner
Joe Codiano
Bill Mallory
1996
John Brickels
Hal Paul
Dick Shrider
1997
Jerry Hanlon
John McVay
Frank Shands
1998
Carmen Cozza
Marvin Morehead
Ernie Plank
2001
Dick Crum
Darrell Hedric
Lou Kaczmarek
Rich Voiers
Walter Alston
Earl Blaik
Leann Davidge
Woody Hayes
Raymond Ray
George Rider
William Rohr
2002
Peggy Bradley-Doppes
Denny Marcin
Nick Mourouzis
Jim Rose
Marvin McCollum
Ron Zook