Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 18, 1984, edition 2 / Page 23
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Purzycki From regime, the school's administration ? went shopping for a new head man. What it came up with was Joe Purzycki, a former University of Delaware player who had enjoyed tremendous success on the . high school level and most recently had served as an assistant at his alma mater. "Patience is what has really turned the programarouhd," said Purzycki of the Hornets' newfound success. "The administration was patient with our program because they knew it would take us a few years to show improvement; "Our major focus was in keeping our players in school," Purzycki noted following a 56-7 plastering of North Carolina A&T that ran DelState's record to 3-0. "In the past, Delaware State had a lot of turnover each year ! because the players were not able to rertiain eligible. They were always play ing ircsnmen ana sopnomores against juniors and seniors. "When you look at a team like South Carolina State and see that they have a senior-dominated team each * year, it's tough to compete. We realized that, for us to be competitive, we would have to bring our younger players along earlier than we would have liked to." Although the Hornets took their lumps the first two seasons under Purzycki, they gained a lot of experience in the process. "When we came in, we told the administration that we were going to take a 2-4-6-8 approach," Purzycki said. "Our plan was to increase the number of wins by two each year. "By sacrificing and playing younger players the first couple of years, we were able to gradually bring in the players that could help us in the future." "The focus of recruitment is finding kids that we feel can graduate from Delaware State," Purzycki said. "We stopped taking the high-risk students. One thing about the school is that jocks don't get any breaks in academics and that's the way it should be. We push the idea of the studenfThough patience has been Purzycki's watchword, the Hornets won ahead of schedule last year, going 7-3-1 and earning him MEAC Coachof-the-Year honors. And, considering the 45 letter men and 19 starters he welcomed to camp this fall, it's no wonder Delaware State picked right up where it left off this year, outlasting South Carolina State 50-36 in a season-opening showdown between the MEAC's best. "We have a strong nucleus of upperclassmen and that is what has got " % v% BL/ Page 9 ^ y w ^bl ^ii j^^mrn M 9 %n i t- ? - iSmMSK&w^^. IPfiiLfi ^MMMHMMMiri^flflSi^^^^^^^lllfl||lt|||l|||||l^^Hi Reason To Smile Though DelState's opponents used t< Billings may get the last laugh in *84 ten us off to such a good start," Purzycki said. "We have 22 seniors and 25 juniors, and, out of the seniors, only three are fifth-year players. "It's hard to win games when you're playing young football players," Purzycki said. "The fans and students? were tough on us the first and second * "One thing about the school is th academics and that's the way it shi student-athlete." ?*i' ' ' "" ~ wm ...A. U... t .t . yciti, dui we Knew mai once we got into our third year, we'd be alright." Purzycki won't take all the credit, though. "Nelson Townsend, the athletic director, is the real architect behind our resurgence," he said. "He convinced the administration to have patience with us and stick with us during the first two years. Despite Townsend's influence, Purzycki still had his share of doubters when he tdok the hdm. ass^ icr rcLLcet ? ??r '"CP^SSIPm Hb^&3i S "" 'B' ,(^H < " . ^v M V i 2 j ? m i? g^3 m B #75 ^ ^K1" V _ ^ d laugh a lot, Purzycki and assistant < (photo courtesy of Delaware State C "After I was hired, there was intense pressure to produce," said Purzycki, who is one of only a few white head coaches at predominantly black institutions. "There were some very attractu/a KIoaU ?#?.?JJ?A mtv uiqviv vAnuiuaics mai were passed up when they hired me." One factor that helped Purzycki win acceptance among Delaware "State parat jocks don 7 get any breaks in ould be. We push the idea of the ? Joe Purzycki tisans was the attitude of the players. "The team was very close and the Dlavers knew thev were all onino tr* K* , , ? j -- w? ? gvtiig VW WV treated fairly," he said. "The players believed in us and did everything we . asked of them. They had confidence in our program. "Last year, going into our third year, we knew we had to win," Purzycki said. "It was a pivotal year for us. Fortunately, we had everyone behind us and, since then, we've been asssssassBsaas^ { KKU REVIEW ^ -^ K* -v* -Jfc 1 mt _( jj^| pj^r " BL (& V *.. % | : J.,:'..:. J1 % j .* coaches Bill Collier, left, and Herky College). on a roll." Ac fnr fhp fflM fV? Of Ka r tifUi^A ?4 . -w .v. >u? iwvi men iiv is nunc, 11 hasn't really affected him or the team, Purzycki said. In fact, he said, it's the least of the problems he's had to face. "Most people can look beyond that," Purzycki said. "I'm only a small part of the kids' experience while they're at Delaware State. They are go- m ing to relate to the people on campus, instructors and administration, so I'm just a small influence on them. "When you can give a kid a scholarship to play college football and the kid can get a quality education, the parents J -have to take a lou^loekatyoii Our ? ? players'help us recruit by talking to the j players we bring in and letting them know how we do things." VT aI A - r?ow mai ne ana nis Hornets have . gotten their program on track, Purzycki says, his biggest challenge is trying to win the MEAC title and possibly . * j shooting for a national championship. "We've gotten to the point where we can contend for the conference crown, but we don't want to stop there," he said. "I'd like to see us challenge for the conference title every year. Then we would have something to shoot for 41 year after year." HEBBSSfiBHB October, 1964-Page 23 j
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Oct. 18, 1984, edition 2
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