Norries Wilson was hired by Columbia on Sunday, becoming the first black football coach in the Ivy League.
Wilson, 40, was the offensive coordinator at Connecticut the past four years and had been on the UConn staff since 1999.
His chore at Columbia is a daunting one. The Lions' long history of losing continued this season. After winning their first two games, they concluded the season with an eight-game losing streak and failed to win a game in the Ivy League. A day after the season ended, Bob Shoop was fired as coach. He was 7-23 during his three-year tenure, and Columbia has not had a winning season since 1996.
"It's going to be a challenge," said Wilson, who was a two-year starter at Minnesota, where he earned a degree in psychology. "It's going to be a challenge on a lot of fronts. You've got to recruit against all the very good schools in the Ivy League, and you've got to change what's been going on with the program there. There hasn't been a winning season there in quite some time.
"I know it's going to be a long and hard road. My first goal will be to scratch and claw and get Columbia out of the Ivy League basement and then to start moving toward the top of the league."
In a statement released Sunday, Columbia's athletic director, Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, said that Wilson had the credentials to turn Columbia into a winner.
"Norries Wilson is a dynamic leader with a full complement of coaching, management, leadership and people skills to take the Columbia football program where we want it to go," Murphy said.
Wilson said leaving Connecticut was not an easy decision, but he said he did not want to miss another opportunity to be a head coach. He said he had previously been offered the head-coaching position at Massachusetts but turned it down.
"Before you know it, the years start to pass you by," Wilson said. "This is a chance to be a head coach in a league with a lot of great football coaches. To get a chance to coach against some of these people was not something I wanted to turn down. I won't say I'm awestruck, but it's a honor to match wits with them and try to help some young people turn around a program."
He added: "I hope that I do a good enough job that other black coaches are given an opportunity to do a great job. I understand I have a great responsibility. I have a responsibility because I am black and have been thrust into a visible position. It's not like I'm at the University of Missouri, but people got to take notice of what I get done here at Columbia.
"I'm happy that it's happened for me, and I'm sad that it hasn't happened for others. I hope my tenure as a head coach will present hope for others to get a head-coaching job."
Wilson's wife, Brenda Marquis, played for the 1994-1995 UConn women's basketball team, which won a national championship.
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