"Almost 20 years ago, I sat down to write this book. The motivation to attempt such a thing came from within, but there were any number of occurrences over the years that led to my telling this story. Two years ago, Miami University gave me an opportunity to do it again, to finish the story, adding to the rich history of one of the truly great public universities, not only in Ohio and the Midwest, but the country."

-Bob Kurz, Miami '58
         
      The cost of the book is $25.00 (plus $4.00 for shipping and handling). Click on the "Buy Now" button on the left to purchase the book. If you have any questions or concerns, Bob can be reached at b.kurz@comcast.net.
       
 
     

FRONT                                                                  BACK
                                 
     

      Brief outline of the essence of the book.

The book begins with the author, then a freshman at Miami University, recalling his introduction to Miami football and Coach Ara Parseghian. Kurz recalls marveling at the offensive firepower and defensive intensity of this team, his new team then and, though he wouldn’t realize it for a few years, his team to this day.

After the Parseghian chapter, Kurz retraces the history of Miami football, through the University’s commitment to developing a teaching/coaching curriculum, enabling students interested in pursuing a teaching career to gain the advantage of adding coaching to their resume. The genesis, Kurz maintains, was an education component which enabled aspiring teachers to add the coaching component. Kurz then weaves in the personal stories of many of the men who have written a remarkable history of college football since Red Blaik matriculated to Oxford from Dayton in 1914.
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      About the author.

Bob Kurz was born in Evanston Hospital, about three blocks from where he now lives in the Chicago suburb with his wife Marian. The two met at Miami and were married in 1958, the year of their graduation. Kurz was named Miami’s sports information director upon graduation and remained in that position until 1965, when he became the Director of Newspaper Promotion for The Dallas Times Herald in Texas.

His nine years in Texas included editing The Beta Theta Pi fraternity magazine, which he had begun editing in Oxford, a stint with The Bond Group, an advertising and public relations firm, the creation of a sports marketing company, and ownership of two Texas weekly newspapers. In 1974, he returned to Evanston as Associate Athletic Director at Northwestern University.

Following a stroke in 1977, he resigned from the University, choosing to tackle free-lance writing projects, which included the first edition of Miami of Ohio The Cradle of Coaches, published in 1983. He was president of The Kiwanis Club of Evanston in 1992-93 and the following year joined his wife’s marketing and public relations firm, which was named Small Business of the Year in 2003 by the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.
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      About Cradle of Coaches.

The year was 1959. Six Miami alumni, each of whom had worn the Miami uniform as undergraduates and were now coaches, unknowingly but understandably were writing a story that lives on, and will continue to live on as long as football is played. Earl “Red” Blaik, Miami ’18, West Point, the legendary Army coach; Wilbur C. “Weeb” Ewbank, Miami ’28, Baltimore Colts, leading the National Football League; Paul Brown. Miami ’30, Cleveland Browns, leading the American Football League; Paul Dietzel, Miami ’48. Louisiana State University, #1 in the country; Ara Parseghian, Miami ’48, Northwestern University, #2 in the country; John Pont, Miami ’52, winners of four of five games. Excitedly, I started to write. There, in the lead paragraph, were three little words, “Cradle of Coaches.”

Today, those three little words have become a Miami signature. The McGuffey Readers, The Mother of Fraternities, Cradle of Coaches. Each is a symbol of a University approaching its bicentennial, proud of its past but ever committed to its future.
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Cradle of Coaches News

Yager Stadium, at Miami University, is dedicating the Cradle of Coaches Plaza, ringing the stadium, when Miami plays Toledo on Tuesday night, November 2nd. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Plaza will include statues of the eight Miami graduates who were Coach of the Year and a plaque to commemorate the origin of Cradle of Coaches in 1959.
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