Nick Mourouzis, DePauw's All-Time Winningest Football Coach, to Retire at Season's End
August 16, 2003
August 16, 2003, Greencastle, Ind. - Nick
Mourouzis,
DePauw University head football coach and professor of kinesiology,
announced his retirement today effective at the conclusion of the 2003
football season. The announcement comes on the day that over 130
players
reported for the start of DePauw's 116th season of intercollegiate
football. (photo by Marilyn E. Culler)
Mourouzis enters his 23rd season as the winningest coach in DePauw football history in terms of total victories with a 133-82-4 record with the Tigers. The 133 wins rank in a tie for 10th among all active NCAA Division III coaches, second among active Indiana collegiate coaches and fourth all-time in the state's history.
"As I begin the 45th year of my coaching career, I find my enthusiasm and love for what I do has not diminished since the day I began," Mourouzis said. "But I feel it's time to wrap up my coaching career and let someone else take over after this season."
“'Coach Nick', as he's known to all of us in the DePauw
family,
has a legendary record on and off the football field,” says DePauw
University President Robert G. Bottoms. “He stresses character and
integrity along with football skills. Nick's enthusiasm for DePauw has
attracted many student-athletes who were considering larger schools and
in
some cases athletic scholarships, to come to DePauw [as a Division III
school DePauw does not offer athletic scholarships]. The many
graduates who
played for Nick regularly return to campus to visit with him. This is
testimony to the strength of the bonds he's created on campus.” Dr.
Bottoms
added, “I wish him well in retirement. In addition to all Nick has
meant to
the University, I have always considered him a close personal
friend.”
"Nick has had a tremendous, positive impact on the student-athletes he has coached and the students he has taught in his role as a professor," DePauw Director of Athletics Page Cotton said. "His impact on our staff as well as the DePauw and Putnam County communities is profound."
A
nationwide search for a successor to Mourouzis will begin soon, says
James
L. Lincoln, Vice President for Student Services, who, along with
Cotton,
will lead the process. “I'm not certain there's a way that Nick can
possibly be ‘replaced' – in the true sense of the word,” Lincoln says.
“Nick is a dedicated, energetic and committed individual who has shaped
thousands of lives and made our program one of the best of its size in
the
nation. We will soon commence a careful, broad-based and inclusive
search
for DePauw's next football coach, mindful all the while of the many
qualities that Coach Nick possesses that have made DePauw football so
successful.”
Nick Mourouzis' .616 winning percentage ranks second in DePauw
history
behind the mark of .688 by legendary Raymond "Gaumey" Neal for coaches
with
at least five years of experience at DePauw. That percentage also ranks
in
the top 50 of active Division III coaches with at least five years
experience and eighth among those with at least 20 years.
Mourouzis'
23-year tenure is also the longest in school history ahead of Tom
Mont's
18-year stint from 1959-76 and he is just the eighth DePauw coach since
1930. His entire football coaching career has spanned six decades
following
his graduation from Miami (Ohio) in 1959.
Mourouzis has established his legacy off the field as well as he founded Chi Alpha Sigma in 1996. The nation's first collegiate scholar-athlete honor society is represented at more than 60 colleges and universities in over 20 states.
In his first season at DePauw in 1981, Mourouzis immediately made
an
impact as he led the Tigers 
to a school-record nine wins against just one
loss
and the team finished the season ranked ninth in the final Division III
poll. Rob Doyle ‘82, now an Indianapolis attorney, was the starting
quarterback for that team. “I remember when Nick came to campus and met
with
the team for the first time. He told us this was his dream job and that
he
would retire as coach of DePauw University. He's kept his word and
brought
DePauw football to a long-term level of success. Nick loves the game,
and
the kids – his passion hasn't diminished a bit. He's a unique guy, and
sports could use more coaches like him. He'll be missed.”
Mourouzis 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. He directed the 1996 Tigers to a 9-1 overall mark and a 6-0 record in ICAC play and the 1990 team to a perfect 7-0 record in conference play and an 8-2 overall mark.
Mourouzis has turned the Tigers' offense into one of the
premier
passing attacks in Division III. In a study conducted by Jim Doan at
UC-Davis, DePauw ranked seventh in passing efficiency among NCAA
Division
III schools from 1980-1989.
Under Mourouzis, the Tigers have made their mark in several Division
III
rankings. The 1996 Tigers led all of Division III in turnover margin
with a
+2.5 average. The Old Gold also was the eighth-ranked passing team in
Division III. In 1988 the Tigers threw for an average of 258 yards per
game,
the sixth highest average in the nation. The 1983 DePauw team was
ranked
number one in the nation against the run, seventh in total defense and
13th
in scoring defense. The Tigers' passing attack, which racked up 2,400
yards
in 1987, ranked 13th as did the team of 1984. In 1985, the offense and
defense each cracked the top 20, with the passing game rated 17th with
224.1
yards per game and the defense allowing only 116.8 yards per contest,
ranking 19th. The 2001 squad ranked 15th in passing offense, while the
2002
team finished 24th.
As a player, Nick 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.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under at Ohio University from 1959-1961. The 1960 Bobcats captured the small college national championship.
In 1961, Mourouzis moved on to Kettering Fairmont (Ohio) High
School,
where he was assistant football and head track coach. That year, the
football team finished 8-0-1 and was ranked sixth in Ohio, 
while
Mourouzis' track squad finished with an undefeated dual meet season.
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). As an assistant coach, Mourouzis got all the training he needed to become a head coach as he coached every position prior to his appointment at DePauw.
At Ball State, he coached the offensive and defensive lines under head coach Ray Louthen. In his first season at the Muncie, Indiana, school, Mourouzis helped coach the Cardinals to their first winning season in five years. In his two seasons at Ohio University the Bobcats won back-to-back Mid-American Conference titles.
In 1965, he rejoined Pont to be part of his staff at Indiana. That
included the Hoosiers' 1968 Rose Bowl appearance against the University
of
Southern California. 
Mourouzis went with Pont to Northwestern in
1973,
coaching the quarterbacks, receivers and pass offense. After Pont left
in
1977, Mourouzis remained with the Wildcats under head coach Rick
Venturi in
the same capacity. During that time the team ranked first or second in
the
Big Ten in pass offense four of his five years there.
"The 16 years I was an assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference and
my 22
years as head coach here at DePauw have been extremely enjoyable and
gratifying," Mourouzis noted. (action photo by
Marilyn E. Culler)
"Coach Nick" was honored at the American Football Coaches
Association
convention in New Orleans in January 1997 with the organization's
35-year
award. He also has published several articles on football and coaching
with
the latest appearing in the spring of 1997 in the American Football
Quarterly on 
“Scientific Approach to Kickoffs.” He also presented a
session on
special teams skills and fundamentals at the 2003 AFCA Convention in
New
Orleans (photo shows Mourouzis on FOX Sports in 1999).
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. He was inducted into Miami's Cradle of Coaches in 2003, joining legendary coaches such as Pont, Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown, Ara Parseghian, Bill Mallory, Walter Alston and Woody Hayes. In 2003, the Urichsville, Ohio, native was named the Alumnus of the Year by the Claymont Foundation.
"I've loved working with and guiding our football players, helping
many
players and young graduate assistants enter this rewarding profession
and
teaching and sharing ideas with my assistant coaches," 
Mourouzis
said.
"I figure I've spent twice as much time with all these people than I
ever
did with my wife and children and now I feel it's time to spend more
time
with the ones who have been so supportive of me all these years."
Mourouzis and his wife, Marilyn, reside in Greencastle and are celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary today. Their family includes daughter Pam and her husband Matt McClure and son Ted and his wife Susan along with grandchildren Jack, Emma and Nick Mourouzis. "I look forward to being a fan, a writer and a better golfer and fishing more with my grandchildren," he added. "The National College Athlete Honor Society that I founded in 1996 will receive more of my attention also."
To visit the DePauw football program's Web page, click here.