The state of Ohio lost a devoted Catholic college coach for the second time this year when Gerry Faust passed into eternal life in November.
In April, faithful University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Don Donoher preceded Faust in death when he passed away at age 92.
Faust was 89 when he died Nov. 11 in Akron, where he lived in retirement after a high school and college coaching career that spanned five decades.
“Fran and I are saddened to learn of the death of Coach Gerry Faust,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on X (formerly Twitter). “His career at Archbishop Moeller was legendary. Most importantly, Gerry was a man of faith, who focused just as much on building moral character as he was on building character on the gridiron. He was a true role model.”
A former University of Dayton quarterback who started his coaching career at Dayton Chaminade High School in the late 1950s, Faust rose to prominence in the 1960s as the head coach at Cincinnati Moeller High School, where he started the football program and compiled a 178-23-2 record in 19 seasons that included five state championships from 1975 to 1980.
More important, he made an immeasurable impact on young men and their families as a devout Catholic mentor. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame.
After winning a state title in 1980 at Moeller, Faust landed his dream job as the head coach at the University of Notre Dame. Rarely does a coach make a leap from high school to one of the highest profile positions in college football, but his success at the prep level combined with his passion for the school seemed like the perfect combination in what was dubbed “The Bold Experiment.”
Unfortunately, the move didn’t go as well as he had hoped on the field. In five seasons leading the Fighting Irish from 1981 through 1985, he compiled a 30-26-1 record.
Faust’s tenure began with a win over LSU that catapulted Notre Dame to No. 1 in the national polls, but the Fighting Irish finished the 1981 season with a 5-6 record. Over the next four years, his teams never won more than seven games in a season and played in only two bowl games, winning the Liberty Bowl in 1983 and losing in the Aloha Bowl in 1984.
Never abandoning his unwavering faith or his great love for the university, he continued to hope that he could turn things around at Notre Dame. On Nov. 5, 1984, Sports Illustrated ran a cover story on Faust with the headline: “I’m gonna make it!”
Always the optimist, Faust remained undaunted. But he was unable to enjoy the success he wanted to achieve or meet the program’s high expectations. Notre Dame ended the 1985 season with a 5-6 record after a humbling 58-7 loss to Miami in the finale.
Rather than force the university to fire him, Faust resigned his position. Not surprisingly, he never expressed bitterness. Until the day he died, he maintained his love and admiration for the university despite what happened to him there.
He often said that he only experienced 26 bad days (his losses) at Notre Dame. One of his favorite things to do outside of coaching was visiting the famous grotto on campus to pray.
In 1986, Faust returned to his home state to become the head coach at Akron, where he helped the Zips make the transition from what was then known as Division I-AA to Division I-A, the highest level of college football.
At Akron, the results were similar to his time at Notre Dame. The Zips’ best season in Faust’s nine years was 7-3-1 in 1992 when they tied for third in the Mid-American Conference. After a 1-10 season in 1994, Faust was let go, finishing with a 43-53-3 record at the school and an overall record as a college coach of 73-79-4.
After he was done coaching, he spent time as a fundraiser at Akron and became a frequent speaker at Catholic conferences and events. He estimated that he gave 120 talks a year, many to church and charity groups, and he rarely charged a fee, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2008 that it was his way to “give back to the Good Lord.”
There’s no doubt his tremendous Catholic faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother carried him through good times and bad. He was an active Mass goer and was involved in parish life and supported youth football teams in his later years.
The following is a story that illustrates the faith and charity of a man that every coach at every level should emulate.
In the summer of 1981, Faust was preparing for his first season at Notre Dame. A sports editor from a small-town daily newspaper not far from South Bend contacted the athletic communications office to see whether the coach might agree to a sit-down interview.
The young journalist, who was just a year out of college, knew it would be a long shot but figured it was worth a try. Big-time coaches almost never agree to these sorts of interviews unless it’s a major media outlet. To his surprise, however, he received a reply that Faust would be willing to grant an interview in his office.
When the young sports editor and his newspaper’s photographer arrived, Faust couldn’t have been more gracious. Unpretentious. Humble. As the journalist later recalled, there was a statue of the Blessed Mother in his office and a rosary on his desk.
At the end of an interview that lasted somewhere around an hour, Faust asked the photographer whether he had the shots he needed. Then, rather surprisingly, he asked whether the photographer would like to get a shot of him in the stadium. Absolutely, the writer and photographer responded.
And so they made a short drive over to Notre Dame Stadium with the coach to take a portrait photo of him inside one of college football’s iconic venues.
They thanked him and headed back home, somewhat stunned by his graciousness.
Not to disparage any of today’s major college coaches, but there’s hardly a chance of that ever happening in the corporate world that athletics has become.
That’s the kind of man that Faust was. Charitable. Catholic. Beloved husband, father of three and grandfather of six.
His family said in a statement after his passing that he dedicated his life to them and also to his faith and the teams and players he coached:
“Throughout an extraordinary life driven by an unwavering and deep devotion to his Catholic faith, he was a beloved mentor to countless young men both on and off the playing field. His work ethic, optimism, leadership and humility were legendary. He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, compassion and inspiration, reminding us all of the extraordinary impact one life can have.
“While most knew him as a coach, we will long remember him as a wonderful father and grandfather who inspired us through example to live our best lives.”
At the hour of death, faithfulness and charity are held in much higher regard than wins and losses on a football field. That’s something to keep in mind when your favorite teams suffer a disappointing loss.
And just in case you’re wondering, that young sports journalist mentioned above wrote this column.