Few collegiate athletes can truly say they have been coached by a legend.
Yale's football team can.
Head coach of Yale Football Carmen Cozza knows his game. Now in his 32nd season as coach for the Bulldogs, Cozza has seen it all. And, after 32 years, Yale's 32nd head football coach has decided to step down.
Since his days as an undergraduate playing for Miami University of Ohio, Cozza has excelled in the sport of football. At Miami he was quarterback, running back and defensive back, earning three letters for football before he graduated in 1952.
Yet football wasn't it for Cozza -- he also earned three letters for baseball as a pitcher and outfielder with an ERA of 1.50 and a career batting average of .388. From Miami he went on to play pro baseball for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. It is no wonder he was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame in 1970.
When it came time to move into a career, Cozza's love for football won out. He coached at Miami of Ohio from 1956 until 1963, spending his last three years there on the varsity football staff.
Cozza's next stop was Yale, where, after just two years, he made it to the top. From 1963 to 1965 he was a backfield coach for the Bulldogs, moving up to head football coach in 1965.
Since then, he has posted an overall record of 179-113-5, and in the Ivies, 134-78-5. He has a winning record against 17 of the 24 teams he has played over the last 32 years.
A lot has changed since 1965. Back then, "the recruiting was a lot different," Cozza said. "It was done solely with the help of alumni. There were no paid visits." Training was entirely different as well. "When I first came, the weight program was in its embryonic stage."
Coeducation changed the sport as well. "The numbers changed drastically. We used to have 60 or 70 [freshmen] out" each year, he said. And, in the early 1980s, "the League implemented the academic index." Cozza also said that a substantial tuition increase among Ivy League schools in comparison to larger state universities added to the dwindling number of players.
Despite the obstacles, Cozza has had a truly legendary career. He has won the Ivy League championship 10 times. He won the 1995 George C. Carens Award for outstanding contribution to New England football. In 1992, the Walter Camp Foundation presented him with him its Distinguished American Award. He has been named Kodak District I Coach of the Year in Division I-AA seven times, UPI New England Coach of the Year four times and Eastern Coach of the Year.
What is more, Cozza was Yale's Director of Athletics during the 1976-1977 school year. These were also two of his Ivy Championship years.
Yet above all else, Cozza respects the people he works with and, in turn, earns their respect. "I don't know if you can work with a better person than [those] in our league," he said.
Cozza said this was particularly evident in Tokyo, Japan where he coached the Ivy League All-Stars in 1989.
"They came together so well as a group," he said. He has also come to respect the "thirst for knowledge" which he sees in all his players.
John Lyons, head football coach for Dartmouth, said he has "a tremendous amount of respect" for Cozza.
"It's just the fact that he's been there for so long ... that is unusual in our profession," Lyons said. "He stands for all that college coaches should be about."
Lyons cited Cozza's unique ability to adapt to the strengths of his team, changing his formations and coaching style based on the players' abilities. "He uses his personnel very well," Lyons said.
After 32 years at the helm, Cozza will step down at the end of this season. Although there is not a specific reason for this decision, he said his main goal is to have a bit more time to himself.
"Recruiting is difficult and time consuming," he said. "I've never had a Labor Day off in the last 52 years since before high school.
"Perhaps I want to find out what people do on Labor Day," he said.
Yet at the same time, he said, "I'm getting a hollow feeling as the [last] day approaches."
But Cozza is not finished yet. Before he steps down he will coach his 300th Yale game on Nov. 2 against Pennsylvania. And this weekend's game against Dartmouth is not just on the minds of thousands of Dartmouth students.
"Dartmouth was picked as the team to beat," he said. "I've always respected and admired the Dartmouth program ... it's the only Ivy program I have a losing record [against]," he said.
Lyons said he expects Saturday "will be a lot of fun for the players."
Yale is 1-0 in the Ivy League and "playing very hard and well. Their record of 2-2 is deceiving," he said, since the two losses were against UConn and Army.
There is no question everyone will play hard this weekend. Cozza said he knows the Big Green will be especially excited since it is Homecoming.
What he failed to mention is the Bulldogs' fervor from knowing they want to give their legendary coach a final season to remember.
