Marian football coach excited about
building program from scratch

By John Shaughnessy

Ted Karras worked on an ambulance crew in one of the roughest cities in America, so the thought of starting a college football program from scratch doesn’t intimidate the new head coach at Marian College in Indianapolis.

Karras has also seen his father live his life with such great faith and passion, so he can believe the dreams of people who eventually want to build a multipurpose stadium Marian—a stadium the city’s Catholic high schools and elementary schools could possibly use, too.

“It’s just a unique opportunity for a coach to build something from nothing,” said Karras, who was announced as the head coach on Feb. 4. “There’s never been football here before, so that’s exciting to me. The players who come here will be the pioneers of football.”

While Karras works to build a program that is scheduled to have its first game on Sept. 1, 2007, administrators at Marian hope the football program will continue the rebirth of the college.

“We’re going to add enrollment, we’ll have more people living on campus and we’ll increase our male enrollment,” said Joseph Haklin, the college’s athletic director. “Right now, we’re 70 percent female and 30 percent male. It [having football] will also provide a certain vitality on campus. We’re seeking a more vibrant campus life.”

It’s doubtful that Marian could have found a more vibrant or excitable coach than Karras, who led the football program at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute for the past three years.

Ask Karras to describe his approach to football and he says, “It’s extremely intense.” Even more telling is when Karras describes his favorite moment as a player, when he played at Northwestern University.

“Sacking Indiana University’s quarterback in the end zone for a safety,” Karras recalled. “Those points ended up being the difference in the game. It was 1984. I wasn’t recruited by IU. I felt I was overlooked. I can identify with the kids I’m trying to recruit at Marian. A lot of kids don’t have the stats [that some larger colleges want]. I look for heart and the hunger to want to continue to play.”

The father of two is also looking for student-athletes who want to benefit from Marian’s approach of “developing a person athletically, academically, socially and spiritually.”

He’s seen the impact faith has had in his father’s life and his own.

“My father, Ted Sr., is a converted Catholic,” said Karras, a member of St. Patrick Parish in Terre Haute. “I admire that. He also taught me my work ethic.

“I just believe faith gives me strength to do what I do. Everyone has a spiritual side. It helps me communicate better. I pray for strength. My faith guides me, humbles me.”

So did his two years of working on an ambulance crew in Gary, Ind. When he drove the ambulance and assisted the emergency medical technicians in the early 1990s, he saw a world that still impacts him.

“I saw blood and death every day,” he said. “I saw young kids with gunshots who didn’t have anyone looking out for them. It gave you perspective on what was important in life.”

That perspective helps to explain Karras’ choice for his favorite moment as a coach, a moment that ended with a loss. In 1997, he led the football team of Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind., to Indiana’s 3A state championship game against Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis. Andrean lost to Chatard in the closing seconds, but he still regards reaching that game as a success.

“Kids feed off energy and animation,” Karras said. “The coach’s jobs I’ve been given have all needed motivation and change. When you take over an ailing program, the energy has to come from the top. When people feed off it, it becomes something special.”

Marian officials hope to create something special with the football program. One goal is to build a multipurpose stadium either on campus or near campus—a goal they hope to achieve within a few years after the football team starts playing. The school’s men’s and women’s soccer teams would also play there, Haklin said. A track would be installed in the stadium, too.

Haklin also envisioned the stadium being used by Indianapolis Catholic high schools and even elementary schools for Catholic Youth Organization tournaments.

“That’s part of the grand plan,” Haklin said.

For Karras, the grand plan now includes traveling the state, offering potential recruits a scholarship and an opportunity to make history as part of Marian’s first football team.

“You have to find guys who are hungry to play football and who are passionate about getting their degrees,” he said. “It’s exciting.” †