Editor’s note:?This year, Northern Michigan University is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first and only NCAA football championship in 1975. Steve Mariucci was not only the quarterback of that noteworthy team, but has gone on to become one of the most famous NMU alumnus.

Mining Journal sports writer Ryan Stieg interviewed Mariucci earlier this summer for a two-part story as part of that celebration. Today, Mariucci reminisces about his days at NMU leading to that title. On Tuesday, he talks about his life since winning the title.

By RYAN STIEG

Journal Sports Writer

MARQUETTE – Steve Mariucci was ready to hang up his football cleats for good. The freshman quarterback had his bags packed, his possessions collected and was sitting outside of the Northern Michigan University residence halls, waiting for his father, Ray Mariucci, to come pick him up.

His college football career wasn’t going as planned. He was sitting way down on the Wildcats’ quarterback depth chart. As a result, his passion for the game he loved had dwindled and he was prepared to step away from the gridiron.

So he called his father and asked for a ride back home to Iron Mountain.

It was one of those watershed moments in life when one decision can affect the rest of your life.

If Mariucci’s father had reacted differently, the 1975 NMU football season would’ve gone differently and he wouldn’t have become the famous quarterback, coach and TV network commentator that people know today.

It’s a cliche, but sometimes a father knows what’s best for his son.

“There were times I was thinking about going home as a freshman and I thought football was not for me,” Mariucci said. “I was way down on the depth chart. I told (my dad) that I didn’t want to go to school and I didn’t want to play football. ‘It’s not for me.’

“I remember he came up to Gries Hall, that’s where I lived with (Michigan State head basketball coach Tom) Izzo. He said, ‘Grab your bag and let’s go back up to your room and let’s talk about this.’ Essentially, he talked me back into staying. He told me to go talk to my coaches and stay one more day.

“I often think of, had my dad caved in and said, ‘All right. I’ll take you home if you don’t want to be here.’ I have no idea where I’d be right now, or if football would’ve been my path at all.

“Sometimes our parents know us better than we know ourselves.”

Mariucci and his best friend Izzo grew up in the small mining community, located 80 miles from Marquette in the Upper Peninsula. Mariucci says that the town still remains the same as when he went to school there and he still considers it his hometown.

“I don’t think Iron Mountain has changed much since then,” he said. “There’s not as many kids in the school. My class had 156 graduates, and now I think there’s 90. Some things change, I guess, but in a small town, most things stay the same. There’s a certain blue-collar work ethic that goes with Iron Mountain and every place else in the U.P.

“I will always call it home. I don’t have family there anymore, though. My three sisters live in Marquette, but I knew when I was a young athlete and was going to college, that I wanted to stay close to home.

“I was just that way. I just wanted to be close to home. Izzo and I, gosh, we would get home on the weekends when we could, even if it was just for a day or two.”

Even after his father convinced him to stick it out at NMU, Mariucci’s college career got off to a less-than-stellar start. The 1974 Wildcats finished a dismal 0-10 before pulling a 180-degree turn during Mariucci’s sophomore season, finishing 13-1 and winning the school’s only national title in football.

The 1975 season is also the first and only time that a college football team has gone from a winless year to national champions the following season.

“To go through with your teammates an 0-and-10 season is really devastating on your confidence level,” Mariucci said.

“You start doubting a lot of things and we had a long way to go in a very tough conference.

“That was back when there was only two divisions, small college and university division. So a lot of teams that are now Division I-AA, or even Division I, played in Division II. Teams like Central Michigan (University) and Troy State (now the University of Troy) in Alabama, Delaware, Boise State, Grambling (State University). Those were all Division II teams. It was very, very competitive.

“So when you go 0-and-10, you just kind of wonder, ‘Are we going to get this done?’ I think the turning point was when we went down to Central. They were the defending national champs and they beat us 20-0 at our place the year before.

“We went down there and we upset them 17-16, and I think, that was early in the year, that was a huge confidence builder. I think it snowballed from there.”

After upsetting the Chippewas (who now play at the Division I FBS level), the Wildcats used that momentum to secure a playoff bid. NMU then won two close playoff games on the road, over Boise State and Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama) before defeating Western Kentucky to win the national title. Both Boise and WKU now play as FBS schools.

After such a disappointing first season, few saw the Wildcats finding success the following year, including the team itself. Mariucci says that the reason for the turnaround was hard work and some new players on the team.

“I think it was a culmination of a lot of new faces,” he said. “I know we had (Buck) Nystrom on the coaching staff and we added a bunch of junior college kids and some Division I transfers that came in.

“The young guys the year before when we went 0-and-10 grew up a little bit and it all came together. Maybe a little luck was involved, too, winning some close games. It was one of those miracle years where everything kind of fell into place. That’s why it was such a Cinderella story. There were a lot of reasons and a lot of people contributed to it.”

Just imagine what would’ve happened if Mariucci’s dad had driven him back to Iron Mountain during his freshman year.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.