Football | 1/12/2024 4:52:00 PM

NCAA DII football coaching legend of the Bloomsburg Huskies, Danny Hale, has gotten the call for his rightful enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 Induction Class, as announced by the National Football Foundation and ESPN on Monday, January 8.
 
Hale, one of the winningest coaches in all of NCAA Division II, retired June 28, 2013, after spending 20 seasons as the head coach of the Huskies and 25 years overall as a head coach. Hale also spent five years as head coach at West Chester University (1984-1988). Hale sat down with Mary Raskob, director of athletic communications & marketing to talk all things, football, life after coaching, and his induction into the Hall of Fame.

What first drew you to coaching? Did you always want to? Was there another path you considered?
Sort of evolved actually in the Marine Corps where I was a player-coach. I was a player, got hurt and started the coaching part and kind of gravitated to it. And then when I got out of the Marine Corps, I went back to do my master's at West Chester. And so when I went back, I still had a hankering to stay in football. They offered a position there, like a GA, but it was a part-time instructor. And I coached with the varsity and freshman coach. And then that was the start. And then, John Bove, who later went on to Penn State, was a real mentor to me, and then helped me get my first job, which was the University of Vermont. That was 1974. And that took off. And that was my profession. So I didn't grow up saying, oh, I want to be a coach. It just sort of evolved. Figured out it was something I was good at and enjoyed. And it was a job.
 

Danny Hale had just two losing seasons in 20 years as head coach of @BloomUFootball. He turned the Huskies into a D2 powerhouse, and now his legacy will be remembered forever in the @cfbhall. @GoBUHuskies @SheptockFrank #d2football @SPORTS_WBRE pic.twitter.com/2g4Kqmybv1

— Nick Zelaya (@the2kzelaya) January 10, 2024

 
Outside of coaching, what are some things you are and were passionate about?
Well, I truly am a believer. I made a commitment in 1996, and I started prison ministry. So I'm committed there. I've always wanted to keep our family together, even though there's a distance between our oldest and our youngest, quite a few years, I wanted to always make sure they're all together.  Now as they've gotten older and they each all have their kids, we remain tight and all of the cousins are together. I believe that I get that from my wife on her side of the family had that tightness. My side was a little tough to go home. I left home at 17. But it's just really neat. So that's a lot of your time. You start the babysitting duties and all the other stuff. You don't have a lot of other time to do the things. And that hurt a little bit professionally, that you need to go to conferences and the clinics. Well, you only have so many hours. That's why I never got into golf. It was just, I'm never home. So, to be a decent golfer and to do 18 holes is three hours. I just didn't have that time.
 
Why did you choose Bloomsburg?
After leaving West Chester, there were certain people I would have gotten back into the profession as an assistant coach with, but I didn't know what I was going to do. And I know that because of the exposure I had and having been a head coach, I wouldn't work just for anybody. I had opportunities to go to be an assistant. I interviewed at Columbia and I couldn't wait to get out of the interview process. I mean I hated it. There's no way I could have gone there. And the other job was Bucknell. And the irony is, that John Landis got the job. So I'm out, I go, I buy a little motel in Hershey. I thought, okay, I can do this. And then my friend was the head coach at Hershey High School. The motel was right across the street and I could walk over to the fields. So he wanted me there, and I helped him coach for four years. Then I got a call to apply for the Bloomsburg job by Dick Yoder. He talked to some people up here. Maybe Jim Hollister being one. They said I should apply. The deadline was a Monday. I drove up on it Friday and I dropped off my application. I walked through the crowd and had to answer a lot of questions on leaving West Chester – the President's talk within the system. And that was something to overcome there. So that was it. So I got the job and took it one year at a time. But to stay here, truly it's going to be a one year at a time – we'll see what happens. But my son, Tyson, he's our third child, he was 11 years old at the time. Shortly after I came here, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, and two years of him having a 50-50 chance to make it. That sort of kept me around here because I had, after a couple of years here, another opportunity. All of a sudden, two head jobs were offered that I turned down to stay here. Our doctors were here, appointments were scheduled. I think just the whole mindset of your age, what's important, so we had the two older that got through school and were there in college and then I decided that this is it. I had some opportunities money-wise, and maybe look good on paper, but it wasn't for me at the time. There's things I didn't like here. I had my misunderstandings sometimes. They didn't realize where I was coming from. A lot of guys are jerks. Would sacrifice anybody else for their own, but I was looking, being realistic, I was a pretty realistic person. Look, it's just the way society is. My sport's no better than anybody else's sport. But at the same time, it can be a vocal, but you can utilize it. It helps everything else. It all can blend together. That wasn't always understood until after the fact. I kept fighting away here for my little piece of the pie and evolved. And then all of a sudden, 20 years later, you're retiring. I can't believe I've been out 11 years.
 
How did you know it was time to retire when you did? Was that an easy decision?
One's the aging process and I beat my body up pretty good with what I had done in the past. And into 2006 I had both knees redone. So I had to change my style on the field so I don't get leg whipped. I had a virus that ended up with me losing hearing in the left ear that I've never gotten back. I'm zero auditory in my left ear. So that changes you on the field because I couldn't tell where people are coming from. So had to change my coaching style. And then a-fib really came, I think I lost a lot of blood when I had my knee replacements, there's a lot of trauma, and I had issues with that. So there's always the mounting stuff. It takes away from coaching ... I didn't feel I could give the same 100% that I needed to for my position. So I just decided it was time to move on. And I left at the time when I thought I had a good stable of players here that I could pass at the time. I really wanted somebody in-house to stay, as Paul [Darragh] did. I was very loyal to him, he was loyal to me. Keep my guys going, to keep Chet [Henicle] and Brian McBryan, keep those guys in-house. And then I've stayed a part but I distanced. I came back maybe, 2015, and helped out.

And I had all these grandkids. So you want to be part of their lives. I'm at 19 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. And so I have a lot of them, and they all play sports. Particularly Roman's, the older boys, they play football, and they are wrestling. And there are Tyson's kids, the girls, and they're in soccer dance and all that stuff that you're always going to something. And then babysitting out there, a lot of babysitting duties, which was great and I enjoy it. It's your time.

Being a head coach for 25 years is difficult while also raising a family, how did you balance both?
That's a challenge. It's a major challenge. Early in the career was harder since your time is more dictated – I worked for coaches that kept us in the office forever. When I was at Vermont, I lived a half hour away and had two kids at home. Diane was stuck at home since we only had one car. It was tough. She would come with a friend to campus and they would throw rocks up at the window at us late at night or something just to wave. It was difficult, so you better have an understanding spouse.
 
It was difficult for Diane. She came from a very structured household where her father was always home at a certain time and they ate at a certain time. Her whole life was that way. And then she marries me and there is no schedule. So, you must have an understanding that way to make it work. And then you have kids and try to get to as many games, events, and matches that you can, but you do miss at times. I'm very blessed to have a wife that was able to do those things. She's awesome.
 
But there was a point when I left West Chester and then we worked together at the motel for a few years. I'm telling you, that was the best for our marriage because the biggest fight we had was at the motel. Now all of a sudden, she goes, 'why don't you get back into coaching?' It's a God thing. I mean that was true, I truly in my heart believe it was God's plan. He's in charge of all of it. That was why when the door was open for me, I was able to take the opportunity to get back into coaching at Bloomsburg. And she said, hey, don't let the door hit you. So that was the best thing.
 
I would bring [my son] Tyson and he was a ball boy for us. He held our cords on the sideline. When I was a head coach at West Chester, I'll go back one year, Ed Rush worked with me for a lot of years and was the greatest guy. With his kids, his son Michael would travel on the bus with the team. To this day he remembers and gives back. He's got a huge business and does an NIL for Delaware Valley College with their coach there, but he remembers his time on the sidelines. I always wanted to allow that to occur with my staff. Bring the kids on the field, go home, go to the game. I wouldn't have all these meetings because I wanted the guys to get home and go see their kids. Sometimes coaches felt " I'm going to outwork somebody". They don't have a life then.
 
What are a few of your favorite/greatest memories from coaching and playing?
Wow, that is hard. As a player, way back at West Chester, was a goal-line stance against Villanova to beat Villanova. That's when there was only major college and small college football. They're at major college and they're getting ready to go out to play USC. Villanova then beat USC. So by the transitive property, we were national champs that year. That's how that works. That was to save the game though, first game of the season. So that was a great memory.
 
The other games was certainly up here a highlight career-wise was the Cal Davis game here at Bloomsburg. It was the semifinal game against Cal. No way we be in this game. They're good. They were undefeated. That's a major program. So I just wanted my team to enjoy the experience out there and we ended up upsetting them and that was a big, big win program-wise. That was a nice memory. Players have just been so many. Some of the players we talk about the elite ones, you know, the Jahri Evans, who I love. I mean, he called me, right away. Everybody knows that we're going to talk about a Jahri, but Eric Verno, played for me here as an undersized short lineman, never started but was a great player for me. His daughter was recognized last year at Homecoming with one of the freshman speeches.
 
If you could give a piece of advice to three different groups – what would it be?
• High school players looking to play at the next level
Try to be realistic because you've got to not only sell you as a player, but you've got to sell to your life and your parents. It's very difficult today. This is all changing. Social media is changing. All these special interests, outside groups who want their money. They have it whether it's soccer leagues, baseball, but be realistic at the level that they want to go to. You can go to clinics and all that, but you don't have to be at Penn State in order to be the best. I could go to Bloomsburg or Lebanon Valley or a place like that to get coaching to be around other players to see what they're doing. So those things are good to do. But the biggest thing is just being realistic at a level you want. Some kids have this desire no matter what they're going to try it. If that's your belief, fine. But others have sort of been forced. I'm a 5'10 offensive lineman, weighs 185 pounds and I am a great player in high school. But realistically I am NOT going to be an offensive lineman at Penn State. I ain't going to be one here. And that helped in recruiting. I knew what coaches to go to that would give me the straight scoop and those that are... you try and guide your kids properly. CB West, he was great.
 
And the other thing that I always talked about was academically, is to work hard in the classroom because you have to keep your academics high, the better you are, the more options you're going to have going away to college. And the other thing with high school kids is that bottom line is you're coming for the educational value too. And that's forgotten now, the transfer portals and everything. There's nothing mentioned academically, your major, so it's sort of sad that kids don't have that direction. It could be a motivation that I want to go and play, and I buy into that, but it can't be the sole reason. It could be one play away, and you're blowing knee or blowing ankle, and you're done. Concussion protocol, you're done. You're going to like that place where you are.
 
• Current college players getting ready to graduate
That would be the recommendation for those guys is to go on and for them to be realistic. And again, lower levels, is to be realistic and valued. It's good to be motivated and that's what you want. If you want to play at the next level, there are some things you need to do and we had some guys that did that and were able to have an opportunity. And I always promised you could have an opportunity no matter where you are. They'll find you if  you're good enough. It's going to come down to your 40 times and your play on the field. So, you do all that, your options will be there. But I tried to support all of them as they got out and told them to go get a good job so you can pay for your social security and I keep my retirement.
 
• New coaches – either in their first few years of being a head coach or newly in the business
New coaches should just be themselves. You can learn and you absorb, you're like a sponge, you take in from all your other influences and you will be influenced both positive and negative. You need to find what fits you. You're going to learn the X's and O's but you can't be somebody you're not. And a lot of guys, young coaches, they try and emulate and feel they have to act a certain way or be a certain way like this other successful person coach but that's not their personality. So I just tell new guys to be true to yourself and be yourself and then go from there.
 
I also was a firm believer and I still believe that you don't have to belittle, berate, demean players in order to motivate them. I can yell with the best of them. I can get in their face and spit coming out of everything else, but it's a constructive message. There's a different yell. It's how I raised my children. They knew. I can get mad, but at the same time I love them. I care for you. I don't have to MF you. I had language fines in place that were apart of the discipline as well. You fine them for the use of the F word. You drop the F bomb, you owe a dollar. You don't have to be that way because I think that's the easy way out. It's unfortunate in our society, our culture has changed to where that is something that's accepted. I just don't want to sit at a table with my mom and dropping F-bombs and my grandmother or anybody else. Technically on the field, they don't enforce it at all now, but you're not supposed to drop those words. Officials can penalize teams for coaches and players cursing on the sidelines, but it's unfortunate that they don't enforce more of that now, that bothers me. I had my own reasons, but if I can discipline myself for choosing other words – because trust me, I was a flipping roofer, a marine and I could drop with the best of them – but I don't have get my point across in my language and that discipline translated on the field we didn't have as many personal foul calls.
 
I've talked with a few of your former players, and all of them had a common theme when speaking about you – authenticity. How did you bring that day in and day out – especially during the recruiting process?
I am a very much what you see is what you get. I didn't have to go into homes and that's one of the things I don't like that happens now. I wanted kids to know your players in-house are the best salesman you've gotten. I tell all the recruits to come in you ask them if what I'm telling you is true or not. I would look at the parents in the eye and tell the kid that I'm not going to, and I don't allow my coaches knowingly, to berate, belittle, cuss at, or demean you. Again, they might get yelled at or whatever, but that's not the style here. We're going to try and self-motivate. One of the other things I did on that field allow my players to only yell positive things to their teammates. When you come out here to rag on somebody or to start talking about their mother or just to get under your skin thinking that's going to make you better and I hated that. I still hate to watch that. So I kept that down. Again that's personality. That's my belief system and it worked for me. I felt that kids would, when it came time, that fourth quarter where I needed a belief system where we were down sometimes in games, would stay motivated and give that extra effort because of the belief I had in them. My whole coaching philosophy in that first game was don't worry about the scoreboard. You do all the things off the field in preparation, scoreboard will take care of itself. If you're going out just to win, that will run out. Whether it be spending the money, I wanted not to take that money that somebody would have donated and give it all out at once. I'd like to endow it so that I got perpetual attitude towards building a strong culture.
 
What was your philosophy that you preached to your teams and coaches?
I try to surround myself with coaches, too, that would buy into the same thing that I preached during the recruiting process. I know I've told this to him, but it was John Devlin, NFL, all Division I, the guy was a phenomenal coach and person. I got him to come here. He was the coordinator. But he and my offensive coordinator, Bill Hart, who worked for me at West Chester. The two of them would get after it. So I had to take them up on the field to separate it. He comes in here, he appreciated it, but one day he comes into my office and I had to fine system. He put five dollars on the desk. He said it's going to be one of those days. But see that's control, it's a discipline for you.
 
Talk about your Prison ministry – how did that start, what does it mean for you?
When I came out of the Marine Corps and went back and coached at West Chester, there was a young man that was a freshman that I coached on the team. And he was a great player, went on to be a great player out of West Chester, and had NFL tryouts and all that, but made some bad decisions and went to prison. And had to do a 20-year sentence. But he was going through a Bible study type thing and a fellow by the name of Dr. Jerry Medlock, who was the head of the department here, down the hall. But he was in that prison ministry, Chuck Colson's. They would go in as a group, and the inmates would come and they shared the gospel. Well, he met this guy and found out that he was my player when I was the GA coach. And so, he asked and I went up as a one-to-one. And Jerry would go. It's changed now, for the worse. But I could bring stuff in; you could bring a hoagie in. And that's how it started. June of 1996, that was my first visit. And then I would go regularly with him. And he was my host. Then he said, I have another guy that he gets no visitors, if you have anybody. And so, then John Devlin, Tom Martucci, Jerry Power, Chuck Henry, and I started bringing all these other people in and matching them up. But you're one to one. I am a spiritual advisor to my guy now, Len Helms, he's out of Pittsburgh. He's doing Life Without Parole. My other guy did 20 years. He did his 20, he maxed out and ended up committing suicide. Just the world outside just wasn't the same once you have that tag on you.
 
Some of the guys have gotten out and they've done well. A lot are still there. They're doing life without parole. That's a tough gig. So they need that uplift. If there's some threat outside, you go in there. So it's all Christ-based. But we're not just studying the Bible while you're there. You're talking about life experiences, you know, my family, your family, and trying to help them. The one guy was from Dominican that was there as a drug shooting was 17 years old, had a child that never saw, so we were able to get his son up here for the first time, he's now out and back in Dominican now.
 
Some great stories I could tell, I could go on and on. And my guy that I'm seeing now, Len Helms, He's innocent. He truly is. There is no doubt. And the Innocence Program sees it. To get something overturned is it's the bureaucracy of the system. So we're keep praying that we can get him out someday. I'd like to see him get out. I'm trying to help get his family involved because he's been in 20. He would probably dead had he not gone in. He was wrongly convicted. He's not a violent person. But I tried to get his family because they've all divorced him basically. So his own children haven't been to see him, and I am trying to help bridge those gaps.
 
You've had a lot of success – obviously with your induction into several halls of fame, and now the College Football HOF. What was your secret to maintaining that success at such a high level for so long? How did you handle the times when there wasn't as much success as you wanted and how did you help your players/coaches manage that?
The answer to the whole thing is spiritual. My faith base. I made a commitment in 1985 and I haven't wavered from that. I'm not saying I am goodie-two shoes here, but I kept my verticals in line. I believe that I'm placed here for a reason, and I treat my family, my kids and the team that way. One of the things we did as a team was come together before practice, and sometimes after practice, they'd hold hands, and we'd have a moment of silence. And if they choose to pray, fine. If they didn't, that was up to them. So, I had, you know, kids of all different persuasions doing that, but I just felt that that was the time to reflect and put it in the right perspective for me. And I believe that it worked through a lot of the kids. Then I have optional chapel service before every game just to put things in perspective, win or lose, or draw ... God don't care, man. He doesn't care. I didn't pray for a victory, just do our best and keep people healthy. But the players then knew I had an open-door policy and they could come in and talk. I'm telling you, a lot of the guys that come in, there's very little football. It's about other life issues.
 
I hated it when the university decided to implement their own athletic policy for discipline that they're going to handle and took it away from the head coach that I knew my players and I disciplined in a tougher way than with the university. In some things, the university, like what they still do, they have an open container downtown or whatever and they're going to sit them a game. It just didn't make sense to me. But I helped a lot of guys that I felt had alcohol issues and to get them to make them go to AA meetings or optional in to church sessions or I would do discipline like run stadium steps. A lot of them would opt into the other sessions just to give them more priorities. I know four that probably that they were changed, their lives changed because of that. They were addicted, they were alcoholics, on the road to bad things, and lives have changed and all that. That answers your question both on the front and in the back of handling adversity, to handling the wins, keep it all in the perspective that way that winning will take care of itself. And that was it.
 
We'll leave with a big "OH, YEAH!". Want to share a little history on that rallying cry?
It started at West Chester. And it was a guy did that cheer. it resonates to this day, you know, for me, it throws me back to being a player myself because that's the cheer you would do and get everybody riled up. So then when I went to Marine Corps, just with the troops and everything else, if it was a success, then I would do a yell. I started doing it. I did my own version, you know, and had some stuff. It just stayed with me through the years. And if you talk to Paul Darragh about the OH YEAHs, I did that after Colgate beat Temple. He was playing at Temple. Okay. And I did that OH YEAHs after we beat them at our place. And the head coach ended up resigning right after that.

College Football Hall of Famer Danny Hale of @GoBUHuskies was well known for his post game victory celebration! Check out this @WNEP piece on it. https://t.co/lTFMSkGm1g

— Tom McGuire (@tommcguire63) January 9, 2024

  OH YEAH!