Former UNLV president Robert Maxson, who cut the deal with Massimino, insisted that it was done ethically, and Massimino agrees. Hes still one of our brothers, and we love him dearly. Yet McLain often drops off their collective grid for long periods and when this happens, they worry together. As the horn sounded Williams threw his arms into Eversons neck and face and then ran off. Shapland died at age 57 in April of 2013. We lost a lot of good players and we were coming off an incredible run. Buonaguro was a basketball coach for 38 years and says now he misses it, and would consider a less stressful coaching job somewhere in the business. It is not uncommon to see members of that 85 squad or current NBAers join the current Cats on campus. Why at Villanova, which had played football for 87 years on its campus in suburban Philadelphia, did the authorities first abolish, then shortly afterward restore the game? We even have pregame pasta meals. Massimino had a pacemaker installed a few years ago, but remains the last member of the 85 team still actively involved in college basketball. The official Football news stories archives for the Villanova University Wildcats It never got better than April 1, 1985, for the man called Daddy Mass. Personally, I would have caught it. Broadnax says, A lot of people said it was a tough pass. When: April 27-30. Join our linker program. I dont know why not, said the Raiders Howie Long. You have to forgive. Record: 23-14(10-6, 4th in Big East MBB), NCAA Tournament: The perception in 1981 was that this is a sport that has become far too costly to maintain, said Athletic Director Ted Aceto. But I wouldnt change anything.), In 1987 Marbach was hired at Canisius, dragging his pregnant wife, Denise, with him, even though her CPA career was blossoming. They had a great team: Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, guys who had long NBA careers. The victory set up the all BIG EAST National Championship game between the Wildcats and the Hoyas; their third matchup of the season. He was hurt and angry at Plansky. They sure have. There is a pause, and Massiminos eyes dance like old. In April 1981 the Villanova University Board of Trustees announced the discontinuation of football effective immediately. The players started softly chuckling, until the tension was sucked out of the room. Do you have a blog? When Fran left and I got the job, it was a difficult thing, says Buonaguro. Eleven years ago I wrote a . (And Buonaguro did get another chance. 6-ranked Nittany Lions, it will complete a 40-year journey. And then I took it. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The 85 team came together in one huge chunk and then in small pieces that followed. In the National Championship, Villanova played what many consider The Perfect Game as the Wildcats shot 78.6% (22 of 29) from the field in the 66-64 victory over the reigning National Champion Hoyas, including 90% in the second half. They played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Talley is Villanova's all-time winningest coach, amassing a 229-137-1 record over a 32-year span (1985-2016), including the Wildcats' lone national title in football, the FCS National . We present them here for purely educational purposes. Time heals all wounds. Several of McLains teammates used that expression in describing their relationship with their point guard. You simply have to look to the overall benefits (of playing the game) instead of the financial benefits (of not playing), he said. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? He wanted to be a member of the family again, and of course I accepted that, Massimino said in mid-March. (Eleven years later, Maker says, I was still very angry then. Find out more. We dont talk every day or anything like that, but were fine.). A couple of days ago I heard from eight players in one day, he says. But I never thought he had a drug addiction. Stack says, After the article students came up to me and said, Well, everybody knew it. There was a perception that the administration knew it. But one incident doesnt determine who I am., And there is this, from somewhere deep in his soul: I am incredibly thankful to Coach Mass for the way he ran that program. McCaffrey left after the 2009-10 season to become head coach at Iowa. Day 1 | Thursday, Apr. Join our linker program. A year earlier I would have been happy if youd told me I could get a ticket to the Final Four. After four years at Villanova he became Massiminos top assistant at age 34. The ups and downs. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Both games had been tense, grinding battles, which history has lost when establishing the magnitude of the championship game upset. I dont think he wanted to lose us. Massimino read the story in his office at The Pavilion, surrounded by his assistants. We called him Norman Bates because he had this snappability; he could just go nuts. Time heals all wounds. Several of McLains teammates used that expression in describing their relationship with their point guard. But in many ways it is April 1, 1985, forever. He wouldnt return phone messages I left with him and intermediaries couldnt get him to budge. Though their lives, and the game of basketball, would take them all in very different directions, every member of that 1985 championship program remains connected through the power of their improbable, unforgetable, victory. Nineteen (Thirty) years are gone since Villanova senior forward Dwayne McClain stumbled to his knees and elbows on the floor of Rupp Arena, then cradled the last precious inbounds pass in his right arm and shot his left fist skyward as time expired. (It remains a tight group. And damn, I was a champion., (McLain remains mecurial. Its the rallying point. It worked. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. In between those last two national championships, Roland Vincent Massimino passed away at the age of 82 in the summer of 2017, when many of the Villanova Family (& all college basketball in general) came to celebrate his life. It was incredibly moving, says Jensen. Bill Martin, the power forward whose pass bounced off teammate Horace Broadnaxs shin while the Hoyas were holding the ball and a lead late in the second half, can sit in his office outside Chicago and describe the critical play as if it had just been on SportsCenter. That image sold papers and made people watch us on television., Reality lay somewhere between the media myth and the teams sweet memory. For financial reasons, an average of about one college a year drops football, Boda said. 1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records, "Defense holds fort in Villanova's 176 win over VMI", "Villanova Rolls Past Penn, 34-3, to Prove a Point", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1980_Villanova_Wildcats_football_team&oldid=1123512788, 1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football season, Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 November 2022, at 04:30. Grabbing the moment: As time ran out, senior Dwayne McClain needed one hand for the ball and the other to tell the world that his Wildcats were NCAA champions. coca-cola debuts new cokeand everyone hates it. It gets the old grads back and keeps them interested.. And it was real. Jensen says, I was recruited by Providence, Syracuse, UCLA and South Carolina. Massimino calls it one of the most memorable experiences my wife and I will ever have. Harold Pressley, a starting forward on the championship team, says, From the time I got off the plane until the time I got back on, it was nonstop laughs. Not a day passes when somebody doesnt ask him about 1985, and just last month a security guard gave him a yellowed copy of the Philadelphia Daily News from April 2, 1985. After losing to St. Johns in the Big East semifinals, Villanova was made the No. State of the Nova Nation: Bamba, Dunleavy and Moore. NCAA Tournament: We could not beat St. Johns, says Pinckney. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Trea Turner mightve stayed in L.A., but Dodgers never made him an offer, Chargers were supposed to draft a tight end. And Mitch and I are good now.), (Since 2008, Marbach, 61, has been working as a sales rep for Ampro Sports in Philadelphia. 1984-85 SMU Mustangs Men's Roster and Stats Previous Season Next Season Record: 23-10 (10-6, 2nd in SWC MBB ) Coach: Dave Bliss PS/G: 75.5 (41st of 282) More School Info SMU (Men's) School History Roster & Stats Polls, Schedule & Results On this page: Roster Per Game Team and Opponent Stats Per Game Totals Per 40 Minutes Additional Season Stats That seems to be the majority view today among the higher-education administrators of the 50 states. No, said Martin. On April 14, 1981 the team was officially disbanded due to monetary . Rollie Massiminos preferred mode of transportation is the golf cart he drives to meet a visitor at the front gate of the Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla. We even have pregame pasta meals. Massimino had a pacemaker installed a few years ago, but remains the last member of the 85 team still actively involved in college basketball. He said, Its a bad job, and I dont want you to take it. I believe he was so angry at Villanova at that time that he didnt want anybody he knew to take the job. ), Editor, Time Inc. Sports Group: Paul Fichtenbaum, Interactive Web Developer: Louis Gubitosi, Premedia: Geoffrey A. Michaud, Dan Larkin and Sandra Vallejos. ), Unlike all of his players from the miracle team, Massimino has never watched the entire championship game tape. Villanova played a "light"[2] schedule against four NCAA Division III opponents and the United States Naval Academy JV team. By the time the 7-foot 240-pound Ewing arrived for the 81-82 season, Georgetown had reached the NCAA tournament five times in seven years, but it was with Ewing that the bar was raised. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They struggled throughout the regular season. Im clean today. (He told AP in 2014 that he was using drugs up until 2005.) It was the first year of the full, 64-team bracket and the last year in which the tournament was played without a shot clock. VU has won the series in each of the last two years, taking two of three in both 2021 and 2022. When the football team is playing at home, a lot of alums come back for an overnight, Capone said. Gary McLains 1987 SI cover story on his cocaine use shocked the sports world and opened lasting wounds in the Villanova basketball family. Sure, I knew that. Im sure his story was largely accurate.. ), (Asked recently if that silence still remains, Martin said, I talked to Horace a few days ago. We made a mistake, turned the ball over, and the better team did not win the game, says Patrick Ewing, whose four-year era at Georgetown ended that night. Massimino left coaching only last March, when he resigned after seven years at Cleveland State. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. But the sophomore swingman would come up big in the tournament. He lasted two years at UNLV and left amid controversy when it was disclosed that he had agreed to an under-the-table contract paying him $375,000 a year beyond his annual salary of $511,000. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list. We knew we intimidated people, and we milked that, and John was the leader, along with Patrick, who was about as intense an individual as I have ever met. Theres no Miracle of 85.. Marbach sold real estate and did radio commentary on Siena games for five years. (Well, it briefly got a little better. Very hard on himself. Who the f--- do they think they are? BIG EAST Conference/Collegiate Images/Getty Images. (Actually, there would be another). As the elevator hummed upward, Riley, a master motivator, turned to Pinckney and said, Someday youve got to tell me what Massimino said at halftime of that game.), (In 2013, Everson attended the NCAA Tournament games at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. His hands are sweating. The game that unfolded in the ensuing two hours was a quirky work of art that included both phenomenal shooting and plenty of carelessness. You have to forgive. Well eat pasta dinners together and talk about life and then well win because youll love each other like brothers. After getting no satisfaction from the officials, Massimino sprinted off the floor with his team, pumping his right fist as he disappeared from the television image. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Go To Coaching Staff. [2] The Philadelphia native has found a new home on the Main Line. Villanova NFL/AFL Players. The game was NBCs featured Sunday-afternoon telecast with the fabled announcing team of Dick Enberg and Al McGuire, and the Terps beat Villanova 77-74. than any program in the country, he says. The Villanova Programs mantra of We play for those who came before us is passed down from class to class. --In 1984, when the school was gearing up for football again with 85 walk-ons, 20,000 were on campus, and, for the first intra-squad game of Talleys regime, the stadium was sold out at $10 a head. But if you ask me right now, in 2004, if I regret writing that articlehell, no, I dont regret it. I called him to gauge his interest in my son playing for him at Savannah State. Broadnax has been head coach at Division I Savannah State since 2005. Finally I wrote a letter and sent it via FedEx overnight to his home in Florida. Starters are marked with an asterisk (*). So Horace didnt have to pass to Billy and Billy didnt have to pass back to Horace. They beat the best team in the country.. At Fratellos urging, Massimino took over at Cleveland State in 1996 and coached seven seasons. But the NCAA Tournament expanded from 53 to 64 . Division I-AA football is respectable, and well be in the Yankee Conference starting next year. Keep reading.). Neither interaction fully bridged the divide between them. (Several Division I conferences, including the Big East, had used a 45-second shot clock experimentally during the regular season, but the clock was shut down in the tournament. ), The toughest of those games was the first one. Looking back on them. I took two dribbles and laid it up. When they returned to their hotel, so many fans awaited that the players couldnt get off the bus. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Locker room is closed! An interview could end in mid-question, or answer. But everyone assumed we were locked in our rooms., As for being unpopular, in truth the Georgetown program of the mid-1980s was the precursor to UNLVs Runnin Rebels of 1990-91 and Michigans Fab Five of 1992 and 93, teams comprised primarily of African-American athletes who played with toughness and style (though Georgetown preceded the baggy shorts era that lives today) and made White America just a little uncomfortable. Because of their pressure, you couldnt break to a certain spot and be open. 1985 VILLANOVA WILDCATS National Cnampionship Replica Ring, US SHIP! I saw him a few years ago at a Georgetown function. Have they ever talked about the turnover? Although a recent poll suggested that some 98% of Villanovas students were in favor of restoring football, another poll showed that two-thirds of the faculty were against it. Backers of Kentuckys Wildcats had made Villanovas their own for the weekend, and any other neutrals in attendance lined up behind the underdog. Massimino pulled a chair into the center of the room. Coaches everywhere were instantly and forever given license to dream aloud, inspiring their teams to do the impossible: Boys, let me tell you a story about a basketball game back in 1985. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? Everson stays in touch with everybody. These were heavy days in the Big East, and among Villanovas nine regular-season defeats were two each to Georgetown (both close, a fact that would be widely overlooked at the Final Four in Lexington) and St. Johns, teams that volleyed the No. Some of his former players have made a tradition of visiting Massimino on Super Bowl weekend and attending a Northwood game. Shapland died at age 57 in April of 2013.). Following their Villanova playing days, six players from the team were selected in subsequent NBA Drafts. Roster includes most starters and key reserves. Before Flutie graduated, Boston College was in a major bowl and Villanova was out of football. But he is hoping for the best. The Villanova Wildcats football program represents Villanova University in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA). On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & resort (KS). We laughed together, we cried together. (As always, McLain was the complex exception. He was hilarious, says Pinone. He was hurt and angry at Plansky. If its that important to them, its that important to the university., At the alumni office, Capone, the former coach who recruited Raider end Howie Long for Villanova, said: Compared to the total budget at any college, the football budget isnt that bad.. It was an ignominious finish to his career, and 85 seemed ever more distant. So we stuck with what we did, and added a couple of little wrinkles. The Wildcats would play their array of zone defenses and, on Georgetowns first pass, would often switch to a matchup or man-to-man. And I slept fine that night.), Ewing says, One turnover cost us the game, but I dont blame anybody. Won Southeast Regional Semifinal (46-43) versus #5 Maryland Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Twice. With 70 seconds to go, Jensen dribbled from near midcourt to the top of the key, encountered no resistance and continued all the way to the basket for a layup that gave Villanova the lead and, eventually, the win. 8 seed in the Southeast region. We have 54 (alumni) clubs throughout the country--including three in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, said Bob Capone, alumni director. The team played its home games at Villanova Field House in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Big East Conference. How long have I been clean? he says. 1 seed, yet lost to North Carolina State in their second tournament game.) In the spring, both the institution of college basketball and the NCAA Tournament were on the cusp of significant change. But when you look at it, we were playing in the Big East, where you could lose six or seven games a year, and then youve got four games in the Big Five. We played fine, says Ewing now. Ferrante led the Wildcats to a 7-1 record against a challenging CAA Football schedule to mark the fifth season since 1988 in which the team had no more than one loss in conference play. And Mitch and I are good now.) Buonaguro spent five years as an assistant at Texas A&M, seven at Cleveland State under Massimino and now, at 50, is an assistant at North Carolina-Greensboro. Despite long-tenured NBA playing and coaching careers, the main story that Villanova critics quickly recall is the admission by Gary McLain that he played the National Semifinal game against Memphis high on cocaine. Worse yet, he was accused of pulling Villanova out of the annual Big Five round robin with LaSalle, Penn, Saint Josephs and Temple. And then Coach Mass and Gary came out, arm in arm and we went out and had a little pasta. Even this reconciliation has been tenuous, though not hostile. We connected. They played a great game. He says he wants to write a book about his life and perhaps to deliver his cautionary tale to kids. That season, that tournament was a turning point in my life beyond the sport, says Jensen. Best [expletive] halftime speech Ive ever heard, Stack said. The McLain story would scar him terribly. Heres why they decided against it, Kentucky Derby draw finds favorite Forte in a nice spot in the middle, Lakers-Warriors series: Plenty of story lines, but LeBron vs. Steph is No. We were like the Beatles, says Pinckney. Here's the schedule and how you can watch all the college events. One of their big guys swatted at it, but he missed and it went in. Dayton couldnt answer and Villanova advanced. Nineteen (Thirty) years later, a viewing of the game yields two nuggets. Three starters, Dwayne McClain, Harold Pressley, and Gary McLain played all 40 minutes in the Championship. Then Massimino took a deep breath. Dont play this game not to lose. As freshmen and sophomores, the big three played on good teams that were beaten in the Sweet 16, in 1982 by Jordans North Carolina team and in 83 by Houstons Phi Slamma Jamma. Dont hesitate to shoot the ball. I was a difficult kid, and he was incredible., On the decisive play in the Dayton game, Jensen had the ball in the middle of the floor, far from the basket. 27. The memory of the game moves many of the 85s to the edge of tears. Ive had a real roller coaster since Villanova, he says. Free . Four minutes! It was a low pass, Martin says. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Football does create an end-of-the-week social focus for students and alumni, said Burke, who heads the schools honors program. I had to take it., Massimino says, That story is not true. He says that Gillen should have taken the job, and since he didnt, John Olive, another former Villanova assistant, should have gotten it. Ill bet [Tigers point guard] Andre Turner is still confused, says McClain. Do you have a blog? Do you have a sports website? Read more about our data coverage. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. The Hoyas played for the national title three times in his four years and won the schools only national championship, in 1984. Nineteen (Thirty) years have passed since Villanovas 66-64 victory over Georgetown on April Fools night in 1985 thrust the Wildcats into underdog lore as a team that played the perfect game on the biggest stage against an unbeatable opponent. I do look back sometimes. I can see that now. That old wound is slowly healing. Buonaguro, who had joined Massiminos staff in 1977 when he was 24, was hired at Fairfield shortly after the 85 title game. Golden Girls meets Dr. Naismith. Massimino doesnt deny it. True to Massiminos pregame speech, Nova played to win. Private schools are, however, something different. Every coach has a gimmick. Tim, I got your text, McLain said, exuberantly, as if he remembered me and was anxious to talk. Massimino describes Lappass move as a disruption in the line of succession. Maybe people thought I was a rat or I did something bad just for money, he says. It taught me to believe in myself, and Ive taken that through my whole life. (Jensen stands by that, 11 years later. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. 28. Theyre trying to chump us, and its b-------! He calmed down after several minutes, but the energy remained and carried Villanova into the second half. Pressley and Everson in 1986, and Jensen in 1987. Its a nice icebreaker around Philadelphia.), (Eleven years later, Maker says, I was still very angry then. Of his last seven Villanova teams, however, only four made the NCAA tournament and just one advanced past the second round. At the time, Buonaguro was desperately hoping to get one last chance to run his own program and he felt that being described by a member of the fabled 85 Villanova team as a woeful manager, would damage his chances. The stall lasted less than half a minute before Martins hard pass bounced off Broadnaxs shin near the sideline in front of the Georgetown bench. Massimino, a master motivator in games and practice, liked to say that the members of the Villanova basketball program formed a family. I texted him in early March and after getting no response, called his cell phone three days later. Al Levine/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images. Reserves played the last 17 minutes and Pitt won, 85-62. McLain vaguely implicated his teammates with broad generalizations and also implied that Massimino did little to stem his drug abuse. Villanovas iconic coach provided a little Mass entertainment courtside. The Wildcats football team played their first game in November 1894 and continued play for 87 seasons. St. In the wake of Villanovas 1985 championship, Massiminos assistant coaches were hot properties. And then he went in another direction. Mitch was an unbelievable game coach and Rollie needed somebody like that. That day was about our daughter. Massimino and Lappas spoke. Well, probably. By Tim Layden. Give me the rock! says Plansky. The demand was overwhelming., He added, after checking the record book: I think weve set a record.
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