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Remembering Coach Mac
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*** Tributes to Coach McCartney*** … posted at CUBuffs.com …
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From CUBuffs.com … The University of Colorado Athletic Department will hold a public memorial for legendary football coach Bill McCartney, who passed away Friday, January 10.
The event, which will be a loving celebration of a titan both on and off the field, will take place on Wednesday, January 22 at the CU Events Center. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 10 a.m.
The memorial is open and free to the public. Parking is available in Lot 436, which includes the Regent Garage, starting at 8 a.m. ADA parking is available in Lots 421 and 440.
Former players, support staff, and members of CU Athletics administration who worked directly with Coach Mac are encouraged to RSVP with Kimbirly Orr, Executive Director of the C Club.
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Bill McCartney passed away on January 10, 2025, at the age of 84. Head coach at the University of Colorado from 1982-94, Coach Mac’s numbers speak for themselves …
McCartney was 93-55-5 in 13 seasons at the reins of the Buffaloes, guiding the program to its first and only national championship in football in 1990, doing so by playing the nation’s toughest schedule, just the second time that feat was ever accomplished. He coached CU in more bowl games, nine, than anyone before or after him, as well as to three consecutive Big 8 titles in 1989-90-91 during a run of 10 consecutive winning seasons in league competition. After a 4-16-1 start in conference games, the Buffs finished 58-29-4 against Big 8 competition, going an impressive 54-13-3 over his last 10 seasons.
In the six-year span from 1989-94, Mac’s last six seasons, Colorado was 58-11-4, the fifth-best record in the nation behind Miami, Fla. (63-9), Florida State (64-9-1), Nebraska (61-11-1) and Alabama (62-12-1). CU’s 36-3-3 record in the conference games in the same period was the nation’s best. CU finished in the nation’s top 20 each of those six years, including a No. 3 ranking his final season.
A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, those who worked under McCartney formed a pool that eventually would produce 12 future collegiate head coaches: Gary Barnett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Dickerson, Jon Embree, Gerry DiNardo, Karl Dorrell, Les Miles, Rick Neuheisel, Bob Simmons, Lou Tepper, Ron Vanderlinden and John Wristen.
McCartney also coached four players who are now in the college hall: outside linebacker Alfred Williams (inducted in 2010), wide receiver Michael Westbrook (2020), the late running back Rashaan Salaam (2022) and cornerback Deon Figures (2024). Eighteen of his players are in CU’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
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I was in the summer between my sophomore and junior years at CU when Chuck Fairbanks abruptly left Boulder to coach the New Jersey Generals in the new USFL. The hiring of Bill McCartney, the defensive coordinator at Michigan, was largely met by a collective shrug by the Buff Nation. Little did we know that, after posting a 7-25-1 record in his first three seasons, Coach Mac would go on to become the winningest coach in CU history … and bring a national championship to Boulder.
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Some tweets …
Rick George … He was my hero, mentor and my best advocate!
Chad Brown … The man that changed my life. Who had a vision & belief in me that gave me direction, purpose & the guidance I needed to go from a high school kid to a man. A hall of fame coach but somehow a better man and human being. Love you Coach!
Neill Woelk … Truly a CUBuffs legend in every regard. Thanks for everything you did for everyone, Coach.
Joel Klatt … Coach Mac was and will always be a titan of a man. His love for his savior, his family, and the Buffs were always evident every time I, or others, had the privilege to see him and spend time with him. Those interactions were priceless and always life giving as he poured out the love and mercy of Jesus Christ on those he came in contact with. We will miss you!
Alfred Williams … I want to extend my deepest condolences to the McCartney family. Coach Bill McCartney was an extraordinary role model for a young man like me. He was a God-loving family man and a Hall of Fame coach whose impact reached far beyond the football field. His unwavering faith and deep love for his family were the foundation of his life—values that always mattered more to him than the game itself. Coach Mac will be forever missed and deeply loved by all who had the privilege of knowing him. His legacy is firmly built on love, character, integrity, hope, and faith. I will always thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to have him in my life.
Mark Johnson … We lost a mighty man of God tonight. Bill McCartney made an eternal impact on me during my years here in Colorado. 1 Samuel 9:6 Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor.
Matt McChesney … Thank you Coach Mac! CU Buffs football would be nothing w/ out you & your leadership! We love you Coach!
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Here are a few stories from the CU at the Game Archives …
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1982 … The Hiring of Bill McCartney … “The Unlikely Choice” …
Bill McCartney was hired as the University of Colorado’s 20th head football coach on June 9, 1982.
The significance of the date cannot be understated.
June 9th … four months after the 1982 recruiting class had been announced, two months after spring practice had been concluded, and only three months before Colorado’s home opener against the California Golden Bears on September 11th.
For a coach who had never been a head football coach for a program higher than the high school level (three years at Devine Child High School in Dearborn, Michigan) on-the-job training would not be a cliché but a way of life for the Buffs’ new head coach. (McCartney, while at Devine Child, did become the first coach in Michigan prep history to guide a football team and a basketball team to the state championship in the same season).
Coach McCartney did bring to the program a fine coaching pedigree, coming from Bo Schembechler’s program at Michigan, where he had been an assistant coach for the previous seven seasons. McCartney also brought with him a reputation for being a recruiter and a defensive strategist.
… Continue reading story here …
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1982 … Meeting Coach Bill … In Search of a Rival …
I, however, will never forget it.
It was the week leading up to the 1982 Nebraska game. Coach McCartney was making the rounds of every alumni and student group he could find, trying his best to convince everyone to come to the game and watch Colorado upset the mighty Cornhuskers.
I happened to be among a group of 30 or so who were attending a DRC meeting the night Coach Mac came to see us. DRC stands for Dormitory Representative Council, which was a group of volunteer students living in the Colorado dorm system who get together once a week to discuss dorm issues, from the mundane (ice cream machines in the cafeterias) to the serious (establishing and maintaining a program of volunteers to be available to escort women across campus at night). With 23 dormitories spread across the campus, and with the backing of a student-oriented Housing Director in Dan Daniels, the DRC was not a body without input or responsibilities.
Bill McCartney came to speak to our relatively small gathering less than a week before the game.
Stop for a moment and think about that! A scant five days before the Buffs were to face the No. 7 ranked team in the nation! The same team which had crushed Colorado 59-0 a year before, the same team which McCartney had staked his fledgling reputation on beating, and yet there he was. Speaking to a handful of students, imploring us to attend the game and will the Buffs on to victory.
My first reaction was that the man was crazy. Crazy not only for thinking he had a shot to beat a team of Nebraska’s lineage, but for being away from his post so close to the game.
Shouldn’t he be watching game films or something?
By the end of the short talk, though, head coach Bill McCartney had demonstrated why he had been hired to coach at Colorado. In just a few minutes, McCartney had us so fired up that he had us believing that we – not the Buff football team “we” – but the “we” in the room – could go out and lay waste to the hated Cornhuskers. He had us convinced that if we all believed in and supported the team, that this would be the year that the red hoard from Nebraska would at long last go home with an “L”.
… Continue reading story here …
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1984 … CU v. UCLA … Getting Reacquainted with Coach Bill … “Student Athletes” …
Other than a brief encounter in the fall of 1982, I did not have another occasion to meet former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney over the next two years. Just before the half of the 1984 UCLA game, though, I had to be restrained from climbing down onto the field to renew our acquaintance.
I was so livid over what had occurred on the field that I decided I needed to discuss the matter personally with Bill. Fortunately for me, I had friends in the stands who held me back before security personnel were necessary.
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Game stories of note …
1986 … Colorado 20, No. 3 Nebraska 10 … Buffs take down Cornhuskers for the first time in 19 years … McCartney: “This is as sweet as it gets” …
… Game Story (with video highlights) …
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1989 … No. 2 Colorado 27, No. 3 Nebraska 21 … McCartney: “This is the greatest win I’ve ever been a part of” …
… Game Story (with video highlights) …
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1990 … The Fifth Down Game – Missouri … “A Tempest in a Teapot” …
… Read full story here (with video highlights) …
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1990 … No. 9 Colorado 27, No. 3 Nebraska 12 … McCartney: “I think what we’re talking about here is a group of guys who won’t be beat, can’t be beat” …
… Read full game story (with video highlights) …
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1990 … No. 1 Colorado 10, No. 5 Notre Dame 9 … National Champions … McCartney: “It’s really a gratifying reward for me to be a part of it” …
… Read full game story here (with video highlights) …
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1991 … No. 15 Colorado 19, No. 9 Nebraska 19 … CU’s Ice Bowl … McCartney: “We don’t go out in that kind of weather to play for a tie” …
… Read full game story here (with video highlights) …
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1994 … No. 7 Colorado 27, No. 4 Michigan 26 .. The “Miracle at Michigan” … McCartney: “I was watching our receivers, hoping for a penalty. I thought we needed some more yards” …
… Read full game story here (with video highlights) …
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1994 … No. 7 Colorado 41, Iowa State … McCartney abruptly retires … McCartney: “It’s time. I’ve been here 13 years and I just feel it’s time” …
… Read full game story here (with video highlights) … McCartney press conference …
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2 Replies to “Remembering Coach Mac”
He mentioned that he always wanted to be a coach. He wound up leaving the coaching profession for a higher calling, and devoted the same amazing zeal and resolve to that new life chapter. For me, a new C.U. doctoral student in January of 1982, and a former small college wide receiver, he was the most inspirational motivator I have ever seen on a football sideline. Regardless of the talent for any given game, those players wearing the C.U. uniform were prepared, motivated, and playing to the limit of their abilities. He was a true giant, in every sense of the word.
How many coaches, particularly one as dedicated as Coach Mac, can give it ALL up, and dedicate total commitment to faith and family? He was a VERY special soul and his presence here will be greatly missed on this earth.
Godspeed and Rest In Peace
Coach Mac was the real deal