Thursday, January 04, 2018

Carm Cozza 1930-2018

Yale, the Ivy League and college football have lost a giant with the passing of Carm Cozza at age 87. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Cozza posted a 179-119-5 record from 1965-1996, with 10 Ivy League titles. (LINK)

The Hartford Courant has a story HERE.

A quick anecdote . . .

When I was the beat writer covering Dartmouth football for the local daily my weekly routine included calling the coach of the team the Big Green was playing to include a few of his thoughts in my pregame story. It wasn't something I necessarily looked forward to, both because it was clear with some coaches that they considered my short interview little more than a nuisance and because even arranging the call could be a headache.

It was different with Carm Cozza. I was shocked the first time I rang him up because rather getting an administrative assistant, it was the man himself who answered the phone. I'm not sure in all the years I made those calls there was another coach who picked up the phone himself, and Cozza did it regularly.

Carm never rushed me off the phone and even when I asked a dumb question – which I did on occasion – he always offered a polite and thorough answer. It did not go unnoticed that he always thanked me for calling at the end.

Carm Cozza was proof you can be a great coach and a great man. It's just a thought but Carm Cozza Field at Yale Bowl would have a very nice ring to it.