DePauw to Name Field After Legendary Football Coach
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDePauw University is naming its new football field after longtime coach Nick Mourouzis. The dedication is set for October. Mourouzis lead the football program from 1981 through 2003 and is DePauw's all-time leader in victories with 133. August 7, 2013
News Release
The new field being installed at Blackstock Stadium will be named to honor Nick Mourouzis, an icon of DePauw University's storied athletics program and the college's all-time leader in football coaching victories, thanks to an anonymous gift, the University announced today.
Dedication ceremonies for Nick Mourouzis Field will take place during DePauw's homecoming, Old Gold Day, October 12, when the Tigers face Oberlin College on the gridiron. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. “Coach Nick” will be on hand for a tribute at halftime as the field is formally dedicated in his name.
“As DePauw football enters an exciting era with a new coach and upgraded facilities, it is also time to celebrate and honor a coach whose impact on this program is unquestioned,” notes Stevie Baker-Watson, Theodore A. Katula Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports at DePauw. “We are deeply grateful to the donor who made this possible; it should be a very special day.”
“I can't think of a more fitting way to honor a man who led this program for 23 years and has had an indelible impact on thousands of young men who are now proud alumni of DePauw and its 126-year-long football traditions,” says Bill Lynch, the current head coach of the Tigers and, like Mourouzis, a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. “Nick continues to coach our kickers and instills Tiger Pride in today's student-athletes. Ours is a program with a number of legends, and Nick is a big part of who we are and why DePauw is such a special place to compete on the field and study in the classroom.” (photo: Lynch and Mourouzis at June 24's Dave Galle '87 Memorial Golf Classic in Columbus, Indiana)
Baker-Watson adds, “Work on the new field, which is part of Phase One of the comprehensive Athletics and Recreation Facilities Master Plan, is progressing, and our students, alumni and fans will be very proud of what they see at Blackstock this fall. It's going to be a beautiful place to watch football.”
Mourouzis led the DePauw University football program from 1981 through 2003, compiling a record of 133-82-4. He was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading the Tigers to a three-way share of the league title. Mourouzis was named the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1990. (at right: Mourouzis and Fred C. Tucker Jr. '40 at the February 17, 1981 news conference announcing the hiring of the coach)
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Bill Hess at Ohio University from 1959-61. Mourouzis then spent a year at Ohio's Kettering Fairmont High School, where he was assistant football and head track coach. From there, he moved back into college coaching with assistant coaching stints at Ball State (1962-63), Ohio University (1963-65), Indiana (1965-73) and Northwestern (1973-81), before coming to Greencastle, where he replaced Jerry Berndt.
As a college player, Mourouzis earned three varsity letters and quarterbacked Miami, under the direction of head coach John Pont, to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1958. He was part of three conference championship teams in his four years. In those four years, Miami compiled a 28-7-1 record (at left: the coach with his seniors during the 1986 season)
Professor emeritus of kinesiology at DePauw, Nick Mourouzis is also a member of Miami University's “Cradle of Coaches” and was inducted this summer into the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “Coach Nick” received the 2010 “Spirit of the Monon Bell” award. In 1996, he founded Chi Alpha Sigma, the nation's first collegiate scholar-athlete honor society. In February 2001, Mourouzis earned the Distinguished American Award from the central Indiana chapter of the National Football Foundation for his lifetime commitment to football and for making significant contributions toward bettering amateur football in the United States.Nick Mourouzis Spirit 2010 1
In 2004, Mourouzis was selected by students to deliver the commencement address to graduating seniors. “If you have passion and pride for what you do, you will always love your life's work,” he said. “I always told my players that if you find a job or a career that you like so well like it's a hobby to you, then you'll never have to work a day in your life.”
Crews have been busy this summer installing AstroTurf® GameDay Grass 3D52 Xtreme™ at the stadium. A webcam shows up-to-the-minute glimpses at the work being done at Blackstock, which has been the home of the football team since 1921. I
DePauw Hat blackgold 09Visit the football team's official online site here. The team opens its 2013 season September 7 at Sewanee (University of the South).
Old Gold Day was first celebrated at DePauw in 1907. Other events planned for the 2013 celebration include men's and women's soccer games versus Ohio Wesleyan and recognition of DePauw's 2003 women's soccer team, which advanced to the the NCAA Division III Final Four ten years ago.
Source: DePauw University