CASE PROMOTES OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TO HEAD COACH

Case Sports Information
Contact Creg Jantz ­ (216) 368-6517 or creg.jantz@case.edu

March 24, 2004

CASE PROMOTES OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TO HEAD COACH…

CLEVELAND, OH ­ Greg Debeljak’s time has finally arrived­after serving 15
years as an assistant football coach in the local college ranks. Case
Western Reserve University named Debeljak their new head coach this
afternoon.

Debeljak, 38, replaces Joe Perella, who resigned this past February to
become athletic director at local Beachwood High School.

“We were fortunate to have a man of Greg’s caliber waiting in the wings and
are extremely excited to have him as our new football coach,” said Interim
Athletic Director Kristin Hughes. “Coach Debeljak will do big things for
this program.”

Debeljak, a local Mentor High School graduate (1983), served as the
Spartans associate head coach/offensive coordinator the last three seasons
and prior to that spent 12 years as an assistant (1988-2000) at local John
Carroll University (JCU).

At JCU he was a graduate assistant his first two seasons, the next eight he
was the quarterbacks and receivers coach and the last he served as
offensive coordinator (2000). Debeljak also gradated (1988) from JCU,
playing both football and basketball.

“It’s been my goal for a long time to be a head college football coach, and
I am very gratified to everybody here who helped that happen,” said
Debeljak with a smile. “I am looking forward to preparing for the season.

With Debeljak as their offensive coordinator, Case posted their first
back-to-back-to-back 500-plus seasons (5-5 in 2001, 6-4 in 2002, 5-5 in
2003) since 1986. The university also broke ground on a new football
complex this winter. It’s scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” explained Debeljak. “We have a lot of
guys to replace, but I am also extremely excited about the two classes we
brought in. And the job we have done recruiting will help things even more.”

A MENTOR MAN … At Mentor High School, Debeljak was named first team
All-County, first team All-Conference (Old Greater Cleveland Conference)
and Most Valuable Back as a senior quarterback in 1982 when he threw for
990 yards for the Cardinals. He was second team All-County as a
junior. Debeljak also was a three-year letter winner in basketball and was
selected an All-Conference guard twice. From there Debeljak attended the
University of Akron (1983-84) and was a member of the Zip’s varsity
basketball team.

CARROL COLLEGE CAREER … Debeljak transferred from Akron to John Carroll
after his freshman year because his missed playing football. As a football
player, he lettered four times, once as a defensive back (earning second
team All-PAC honors), twice as a quarterback and once as a receiver. As a
basketball player, he helped lead the Blue Streaks to a pair of President’s
Athletic Conference titles and still holds the school record for assists in
a single game (13).

ABOUT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY … Case is among the nation's leading
research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of
the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is
distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and
experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Sciences. The Commission on
Presidential Debates selected Case to host the U.S. vice presidential
debate on October 5, 2004. http://www.case.edu.