USD Football 1997

••• THE FOUR-TIME SUPER BOWL COACH OF THE BUFFALO BILLS HAS NOT FORGOTTEN THAT HE GOT HIS START AS A PLAYER AND COACH AT DIVISION Ill COE COLLEGE. grams who are very concerned about their education and who do have val– ues which go beyond the athletic field. But I think that number is diminishing. TDI: Did (all-time Division III rush– ing leader) Carey Bender lose any– thing athletically by going to Coe instead of a Division I school? LEVY: In my opinion, no. He cer– tainly had a great career. He loved it there. He got a good education. He

By Dan Herbst

LEVY: Coaches have become more Don't get me wrong. We have a lot of educated in how to deal with people. guys here who came out of big-time pro-

aving led the Buffalo Bills to a record four consecutive Super Bowls, two-time United Press International NFL Coach of the Year Marvin Daniel Levy is now in his 12th season at the Bills'

Coaching isn't as dictatorial as it used to be. I'm not as dictatorial as I was when I started. People, whether now or then, whatever size, shape, color, or age, are pretty much the same. The difference is that the pressures on ath– letics are even greater now. I wonder if it's as much fun now as it was when I played. There was a tremendous recog– nition that the athlete was there for an education first. I don't know if that still prevails. TDI: Your Bills

helm. One of the most well-rounded men in professional sports, the former Phi Beta Kappa at Division III Coe Col– lege holds a master's degree in English History from Harvard. Touchdown Illus– trated recently caught up Levy, whose coaching career has spanned five decades. TOUCHDOWN ILLUSTRATED: You were a three-sport athlete at Coe. LEVY: I played football and track. In my senior year six or seven kids got caught drinking after a game and they were kicked off of the basketball team. They recruited some of the better play– ers out of the intramural league. I wound up starting and did letter. TDI: What's the best thing you got from playing college football? LEVY: The associations in a hard, con– certed effort with teammates and with the coaches I had. I was fortunate to have had some unbelievable individ– uals as my coaches at Coe, Harris Lamb and Dick Clausen, who eventu– ally hired me back at Coe. Mostly, it's the association with teammates with whom I still communicate and look forward to seeing when we get back on the campus. TDI:What are the substantive dif– ferences between today's athletes and previous generations?

roster always seems to include players from non-tradition– al football schools. Did those athletes sacrifice anything by not attending a so-called football factory? LEVY: I went that route and I don't feel I hindered myself. Each individual has different needs and ought to assess them. I regret those who assess where they 're going to school based pri– marily on the ath– letic program. More and more in big col– lege programs, the choices being made have nothing to do with education .

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