George O'Leary

College coach infobox
Name = George O'Leary


Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1946|8|17
Birthplace = flagicon|New York New York City
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = UCF
Title = Head Coach
CurrentRecord = 22–27
OverallRecord = 74–60
Awards =
Championships =
CFbDWID = 1785
Player =
Years =
Team =
Position =
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1994-2001
2002-2004
2004-"present"
CoachTeams = Georgia Tech
Minnesota Vikings (DC)
UCF
FootballHOF =

George O'Leary (born August 17, 1946 in New York City, New York) is the head football coach for the University of Central Florida. Before that, he served as the head coach at Georgia Tech and as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. He was hired as head coach at the University of Notre Dame but did not coach a game for the school.

Georgia Tech

George O'Leary was the head coach at Georgia Tech from 1994 to 2001. O'Leary took over the program as interim head coach with three games remaining in the 1994 season coach after then head coach Bill Lewis was fired, due to the team's 1-7 record just three years after winning the 1990 National Championship. He was later named the head coach prior to the 1995 season. After two off years, O'Leary rebuilt the program into a consistent winner, leading the team to a victory in the 1997 Carquest Bowl in Miami, Florida. O'Leary's 1998 team went 10-2, defeating its archrival the University of Georgia for the first time in 7 years, as well as the University of Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. For the remainder of his tenure at Georgia Tech, the team went to a bowl game every season.

O'Leary won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year in 2000 and the ACC Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 2000. During his seven-year stint at Georgia Tech, O'Leary guided the Yellow Jackets to a 52-33 (.612) record, including five bowl appearances. From 1995-2001, Georgia Tech recorded five winning seasons in six years, including the 1998 ACC Co-Championship and an appearance in the Toyota Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. O'Leary's Georgia Tech teams won at least seven games four times during his tenure, including a 10-win season in 1998 and a nine-win campaign in 2000.

During an NCAA investigation, it was revealed that the Georgia Tech football program used ineligible players while O'Leary was head coach. [cite news|url=http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/press_room/2005/november/20051117_georgiatech_infractions_rls.html|title=Georgia Tech Penalized for Allowing Academically Ineligible Student-Athletes to Compete, Lack of Institutional Control|publisher=NCAA|date=2005-11-17|accessdate=2007-09-16] These infractions were due to the deficiencies in the school's administration and were not attributed to O'Leary or his staff. The initial requirement that Georgia Tech vacate the performances of the football team for games in which these ineligible players participated was overturned on appeal. [cite news|url=http://chronicle.com/news/article/459/ncaa-overturns-part-of-penalty-for-georgia-tech|title=NCAA Overturns Part of Penalty for Georgia Tech|publisher=The Chronicle of Higher Education|date=2006-05-18|accessdate=2007-09-27] Further, Georgia Tech was placed on probation and lost scholarships because of the violations.

Notre Dame controversy

In 2001, O'Leary left Georgia Tech to take over as the head coach for the University of Notre Dame. Five days later, O'Leary resigned after he was discovered to have had inaccuracies on his resume. On the resume, O'Leary claimed that he had earned a master's degree from "NYU-Stony Brook University," a non-existent institution. [cite web | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2001/12/15/2001-12-15_by_george__it_s_blarney_o_le.html |title=Dick Weiss, "By George, It's Blarney", N.Y. Daily News, Dec. 15, 2001] In fact, he had taken only two courses at NYU, and never graduated. [cite web |url=http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/2001/1214/1295624.html |title=ESPN.com, "Academic, Athletic Irregularities Force Resignation", Dec. 14, 2001.] He also claimed that he had earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire, when the school claimed he had not even played in one game.

Notre Dame initially supported O'Leary when the discrepancies concerning his athletic career at New Hampshire came to light, as O'Leary assured the school that there was nothing else they needed to know. When further background checks found that O'Leary had falsified his academic credentials as well, the school asked for his resignation. "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans," O'Leary said in a statement that was released that day. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2001/12/14/oleary_notredame/ O'Leary out at Notre Dame after one week] ]

O'Leary blamed the inaccuracies on 'resume padding' that had followed him through his career, admitting: "In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatements were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years."

O'Leary resigned the position of head coach at Notre Dame, effective December 13, 2001.

Minnesota Vikings

In 2002, O'Leary was hired as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach by Mike Tice for the Minnesota Vikings and served for two seasons. He was credited with improving the 2002 Vikings defense to 10th in the NFL, after it was ranked 30th in 2001.

University of Central Florida

O'Leary left the Vikings in 2004 to become the head coach at the University of Central Florida. In his first season, the Knights posted their worst season in school history with an 0-11 record.

The team rebounded in 2005 after joining Conference USA. The team finished the season with an 8-3 record (7-1 in C-USA). UCF defeated Rice to clinch the C-USA East Division and earned the right to host the first-ever C-USA Championship Game, a loss to Tulsa that was played in front of over 51,000 people. The team would then go on to play in the Hawaii Bowl, barely losing to Nevada after UCF kicker Matt Prater missed an extra point in overtime. The Knights were just the sixth team in NCAA history to go to a bowl a year after going winless. O'Leary was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in addition to being named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com and SportsIllustrated.com. Facing an 11-game schedule with just four home games, O'Leary's UCF squad became just the fourth team in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth while playing seven road games in an 11-game schedule.

During O'Leary's leadership, UCF has made more of an effort to improve the athletic facilities on campus. On September 15, 2007, it opened its 45,000 seat on-campus football facility, Bright House Networks Stadium with a loss to the Texas Longhorns on ESPN. O'Leary has also been instrumental in getting state-of-the-art practice fields and an indoor football practice facility, the only one of its kind in Florida. UCF opened the 2007 season with a 25-23 victory against ACC team North Carolina State. This was the first victory over a BCS conference team in the O'Leary era. After a 64-12 loss to cross-state rival USF, UCF successfully finished the season leading the C-USA East Division, and again earned the right to host the C-USA Championship in its first season at Bright House Networks Stadium. In a rematch of the 2005 Conference Championship game, the Knights would again face the University of Tulsa in the title game. This time, however, O'Leary would lead the Knights to their first ever Conference Championship, a feat that would land the Knights a bid to the 2007 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN. This was the second bowl berth in school history (the first coming in 2005 also under O'Leary) and the second one in three years.

Ereck Plancher Controversy

On March 18, 2008, running back Ereck Plancher died after conditioning drills. According to four UCF football players alledgedly interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Coach O'Leary verbally abused Plancher throughout the workout, and continued to push the young man to perform despite what they reported to be obvious physical signs that Plancher was in no shape to continue. [cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3341341|title=Report: Plancher showed signs of distress at end of workout|publisher=ESPN.com|date=2008-04-25|accessdate=2008-06-26] According to the alleged four unnamed players, O'Leary cursed at Ereck Plancher in a post-workout huddle. Plancher collapsed shortly after the workout and was immediately attended by UCF athletic trainers. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he passed away approximately one hour later. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the story told by each of the four players was identical. The Orlando Sentinel granted the players anonymity, citing a fear of backlash from O'Leary and the coaching staff. Many have blamed the Orlando Sentinel of fabricating the controversy by releasing the supposed hard-hitting interviews yet citing anonymous sources. This caused many supporters of UCF and George O'Leary to discontinue their subscriptions with the paper, which, in turn, affected the Sentinel's income. This resulted in more layoffs for the paper. [ [http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/07/21/tidbits1.html Orlando Sentinel layoffs under way again?] ] While attempting to renew their contract with UCF to carry the newspaper on university newsstands, the Sentinel requested a sharp increase in its pricing rate, which caused the UCF Student Government Association to discontinue their contract. As a result, the Orlando Sentinel is no longer carried at the university. [ [http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2008/08/29/News/Sentinel.Now.Off.Campus-3408221.shtml Sentinel Now Off Campus] ]

Classroom Success

George O'Leary has reshaped the UCF football program in regards to improved academic results in the classroom and overall team discipline on and off the football field. Since O'Leary's arrival, UCF has posted its top two fall semester team grade point averages in the classroom. The Knights set a new school Division I-A history record with a 2.78 team GPA in 2004, only to break that mark with a 2.808 team GPA in the fall of 2005. In 2005, UCF placed 39 student-athletes on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, the most of any football squad in the conference. O'Leary's first recruiting class showed 82 percent of the class receiving academic honor roll accolades. The impressive honor roll number was not limited to the newcomers as 40 percent of the entire team earned a 3.00 GPA or higher during the fall 2004 semester.

The Knights academic success continued during the Fall 2007 semester, when the Knights had an in-season team GPA of 2.753. This brought the cumulative GPA of the Knights' roster to 2.838. Furthermore, 44 members of the roster posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher. [ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/knights/orl-ucfbeat2207dec22,0,3881801.story "Knights make the grade" by Kyle Hightower, 12/22/2007]

As of September 2008 the Knights current combined cumulative grade point average has risen to 2.969 and has been as high as 3.035 following the 2007 summer semester. [http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2008/09/08/News/Successful.StudentAthletes.Get.Decal-3418406.shtml "Successful student-athletes get decal" by Caitlin Smith, 09/08/08] According to UCF's associate director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes, UCF football players are required to attend 10 hours of study hall a week, with at least two hours completed each and every night. [http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2008/09/08/News/Successful.StudentAthletes.Get.Decal-3418406.shtml "Successful student-athletes get decal" by Caitlin Smith, 09/08/08]

Head coaching record

CFB Coaching Record Team
team=Georgia Tech
conf=ACC
startyear=1994
endyear=2001CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 1994
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 0-3
conference = 0-6
confstanding = 10
bowl =
bowlgame =
bowlopp =
bowlscore =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 1995
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 6-5
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 4
bowl =
bowlgame =
bowlopp =
bowlscore =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 1996
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 5-6
conference = 4-4
confstanding = 5
bowl =
bowlgame =
bowlopp =
bowlscore =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 1997
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 7-5
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 4
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Carquest Bowl
bowlopp = West Virginia
bowlscore = W 35-30
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1998
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 10-2
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1 - T
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Gator Bowl
bowlopp = Notre Dame
bowlscore = W 35-28
bcsbowl =
ranking = 11CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 1999
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 8-4
conference = 5-3
confstanding = 2
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Gator Bowl
bowlopp = Miami-FL
bowlscore = L 13-28
bcsbowl =
ranking = 21CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 2000
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 9-3
conference = 6-2
confstanding = 2 - T
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Peach Bowl
bowlopp = LSU
bowlscore = L 14-28
bcsbowl =
ranking = 19CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 2001
team = Georgia Tech
overall = 7-5
conference = 4-4
confstanding = 4
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Seattle Bowl
bowlopp = Stanford
bowlscore = W 24-14
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Team End
team=Georgia Tech
overall=52-33
confrecord=36-22CFB Coaching Record Team
team=UCF Knights
conf=MAC: 2004, C-USA: 2005-present
startyear=2004
endyear=CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 2004
team = UCF
overall = 0-11
conference = 0-8
confstanding = 7 - MAC East
bowl =
bowlgame =
bowlopp =
bowlscore =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 2005
team = UCF
overall = 8-5
conference = 7-2
confstanding = 1 - C-USA East
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Hawaii Bowl
bowlopp = Nevada
bowlscore = L 49-48 OT
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship =
year = 2006
team = UCF
overall = 4-8
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 4 - C-USA East
bowl =
bowlgame =
bowlopp =
bowlscore =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 2007
team = UCF
overall = 10-4
conference = 8-1
confstanding = 1 - C-USA East
bowl = yes
bowlgame = Liberty Bowl
bowlopp = Mississippi State
bowlscore = L,10-3
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Coaching Record Team End
team=UCF
overall=22-28
confrecord=18-17CFB Coaching Record End
overall = 74-61
bcs =
poll =
polltype =

References

External links

* [http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/oleary_george00.html UCF Athletics George O'Leary Bio]