Florida Atlantic on verge of playoff spot!
October 21, 2003
Dear College Football Fan,
Florida Atlantic University is off to a 6-2 start and is currently ranked no. 21 in the Sports Network/CSTV poll, no. 19 by USA Today and no. 17 by Don Hansen’s Weekly Gazette. What a remarkable turnaround for a program that is in its third year of existence and was 2-9 a year ago.
That turnaround can be attributed to the ground work and master plan laid out for the program by Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger. Coach Schnellenberger resurrected the University of Miami, taking a program near demise to a National Title. He then made similar strides for the University of Louisville.
Schnellenberger, now 69, began building the foundation in 1998 as a fundraiser. He then shifted hats and becoming the start-up program’s first head coach, in 1999. The first class was signed in 2000. Three years later they are on the verge of a possible play-off appearance.
I believe Coach Schnellenberger and the building of this program is an outstanding story.
As with any team, many of the players would be outstanding features, however, the fact that many of the players who are now part of a team ranked among the countries best, didn’t know Coach Schnellenberger, just the stories told by their coaches and fathers, and came to a school that didn’t have a locker room, playing facility or a single piece of equipment.
They came because they believed in Schnellenberger’s vision and are now a part of completing the story. As best as our research can discover, FAU is fastest Division I-AA start-up team to defeat a Division I A program. The Owls accomplished this feat in just 22 games.
Katrina McCormack
Assistant AD/SID
Florida Atlantic University
Dear College Football Fan,
Florida Atlantic University is off to a 6-2 start and is currently ranked no. 21 in the Sports Network/CSTV poll, no. 19 by USA Today and no. 17 by Don Hansen’s Weekly Gazette. What a remarkable turnaround for a program that is in its third year of existence and was 2-9 a year ago.
That turnaround can be attributed to the ground work and master plan laid out for the program by Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger. Coach Schnellenberger resurrected the University of Miami, taking a program near demise to a National Title. He then made similar strides for the University of Louisville.
Schnellenberger, now 69, began building the foundation in 1998 as a fundraiser. He then shifted hats and becoming the start-up program’s first head coach, in 1999. The first class was signed in 2000. Three years later they are on the verge of a possible play-off appearance.
I believe Coach Schnellenberger and the building of this program is an outstanding story.
As with any team, many of the players would be outstanding features, however, the fact that many of the players who are now part of a team ranked among the countries best, didn’t know Coach Schnellenberger, just the stories told by their coaches and fathers, and came to a school that didn’t have a locker room, playing facility or a single piece of equipment.
They came because they believed in Schnellenberger’s vision and are now a part of completing the story. As best as our research can discover, FAU is fastest Division I-AA start-up team to defeat a Division I A program. The Owls accomplished this feat in just 22 games.
Katrina McCormack
Assistant AD/SID
Florida Atlantic University
posted by Don @ 10/21/2003 01:03:00 PM
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