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Joe Yukica

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Joseph M. Yukica (May 27, 1931 – January 22, 2022) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of New Hampshire (1966–1967), Boston College (1968–1977), and Dartmouth College (1978–1986), compiling a career college football record of 111–93–4. Yukica played at Pennsylvania State University from 1949 to 1952.

Joe Yukica
Yukica in 1976
Biographical details
Born(1931-05-27)May 27, 1931
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 22, 2022(2022-01-22) (aged 90)
Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.[1]
Playing career
1949–1952Penn State
Position(s)Tight end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1953Penn State (Fresh. Asst.)
1954State College HS (PA)
1955–1959Central Dauphin HS (PA)
1960West Chester State (Ends)
1961–1965Dartmouth (OL)
1966–1967New Hampshire
1968–1977Boston College
1978–1986Dartmouth
Head coaching record
Overall111–93–4 (college)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 Ivy (1978, 1981-1982)

Early life

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Yukica was the son of a Croatian immigrant crane operator and a farmer's daughter.[2] He was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania and grew up in Midland, Pennsylvania.[1] He didn't play football until his senior year at Midland High School, but played well enough to represent Beaver County in a high school all-star game, where he attracted the attention of a Penn State assistant. He played tight end under Rip Engle from 1949 to 1952 and was one of the top college receivers in the east. During his summer breaks, Yukica returned home and worked in the Crucible Specialty Steel plant's maintenance department.[2]

Coaching career

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Early years

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In 1953 Yukica helped coach Penn State's freshman football team. In 1954 he became the head coach at State College Area High School. He then moved to Central Dauphin High School, where he won Pennsylvania High School Coach of the Year after an undefeated 1958 season. In 1960 he was the ends coach at West Chester State. He then served five seasons as an assistant under Bob Blackman at Dartmouth.[3]

New Hampshire

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Yukica became the head coach at the University of New Hampshire in 1966.[4] As the Wildcats' coach, Yukica's playbook contained 450 offensive plays and 89 defensive plays, much more than most professional teams of the time.[3] In 1967, the Wildcats went 5-3 and Yukica was named New England coach of the year for his success in turning around the UNH football program.[5]

Boston College

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On December 22, 1967, Yukica signed a three-year contract to become the head football coach at Boston College. He succeed Jim Miller, who had resigned due to alumni protests following a 4–6 season. Yukica, who had not applied for the job, was BC's top choice from a pool of 100 candidates.[6] Upon taking the job, Yukica expanded the coaching staff to six-full time assistants, as he felt the sport was becoming more specialized and he needed “the right help to get the job done”.[3] He brought along Bill Bowes, Pete Carmichael, and Joe Daniels from New Hampshire and hired Bill Campbell, John Anderson, and Jack Bicknell to fill out the coaching staff.[7][8][9] Yukica also sought to expand BC's recruiting nationwide and committed to recruiting African-American players. Prior to his arrival, the school had only had five black football players in its history.[3][10]

In his Yukica's 10 years as head coach, Boston College had a 68–37 record and only one losing season.[11][2] This included a 18–14 record against the "Eastern Big Five" schools (Army, Navy, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Penn State), a vast improvement over the 1–19 record BC had in the decade prior to Yukica’s arrival. The school also began taking on bigger competition, dropping Maine, William & Mary, Richmond, Detroit, and Buffalo from the schedule and in favor of Notre Dame, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, and Texas Tech.[12] In 1976, Boston College upset the Earl Campbell-led Texas Longhorns 14–13.[2] His 68 wins remained the school record until 2006 when he was passed by Tom O'Brien.[13]

After the 1970 season Yukica was offered the head coaching job at Dartmouth. He came "as close as you can get" to taking the job, but decided to remain at Boston College, as he felt coaching the up-and-coming Eagles was more of a challenge than taking over the Ivy League champion.[14] The following year he interviewed for the University of Maryland job, but withdrew from consideration before his second interview.[15]

Despite his success, BC was unable to reach a bowl game under Yukica, which led to pressure from the school's alumni. In 1977, the Eagles went 6–5, which included a 44–0 blowout loss to Texas and a 35–21 upset to rival Holy Cross.[11]

Dartmouth

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The Dartmouth job opened up again in 1978 and this time Yukica took it.[11] Dartmouth won the Ivy League championship in 1978 and shares of the championship in 1981 and 1982. The team then backslid, going 8–19–2 over the next three seasons. Yukica was asked by athletic director Ted Leland to resign after a 2–7–1 1985 season. He refused and on November 29, 1985, Yukica was removed as head coach and reassigned to another position in the athletic department for the remainder of his contract, which was to expire on June 30, 1987.[16] Yukica, represented by attorney Michael Slive, filed suit seeking to have his dismissal declared illegal and be allowed to complete his contract.[17] Dartmouth, represented by Thomas D. Rath, contended that the school had the right to change the terms of Yukica's contract as long it fulfilled the financial terms.[18] During the trial, fellow coaches Joe Paterno, Jack Bicknell, and Bob Blackman testified on Yukica's behalf.[19] On December 13, 1985, Judge Walter L. Murphy – a former college football coach ruled in favor of Yukica.[20] Dartmouth had the right to appeal, but the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement that allowed Yukica to coach the 1986 season, after which he would leave the school.[21] Although the case was not resolved at trial, Yukica v. Leland has been hailed by the American Football Coaches Association and others as setting an important precedent in sports law. The case also affected how coaching contracts were written, particularly at the college level.[22] In his final season as head coach, Yukica's team compiled a 3–6–1 record.[23] He was replaced by his former quarterback Buddy Teevens.[2]

Later life and death

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After leaving Dartmouth, Yukica remained in New Hampshire, residing in Grantham and selling real estate with his wife.[2] Yukica died on January 22, 2022, at the age of 90.[24]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
New Hampshire Wildcats (Yankee Conference) (1966–1967)
1966 New Hampshire 2–6 1–4 6th
1967 New Hampshire 5–3 2–3 4th
New Hampshire: 7–9 5–7
Boston College Eagles (NCAA University Division / Division I independent) (1968–1977)
1968 Boston College 6–3
1969 Boston College 5–4
1970 Boston College 8–2
1971 Boston College 9–2
1972 Boston College 4–7
1973 Boston College 7–4
1974 Boston College 8–3
1975 Boston College 7–4
1976 Boston College 8–3
1977 Boston College 6–5
Boston College: 68–37
Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League) (1978–1986)
1978 Dartmouth 6–3 6–1 1st
1979 Dartmouth 4–4–1 4–3 T–4th
1980 Dartmouth 4–6 4–3 T–3rd
1981 Dartmouth 6–4 6–1 T–1st
1982 Dartmouth 5–5 5–2 T–1st
1983 Dartmouth 4–5–1 4–2–1 T–3rd
1984 Dartmouth 2–7 2–5 T–6th
1985 Dartmouth 2–7–1 2–4–1 6th
1986 Dartmouth 3–6–1 3–3–1 4th
Dartmouth: 36–47–4 36–24–3
Total: 111–93–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

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  1. ^ a b "Joseph M. Yukica 1931 - 2022". Legacy.com. Legacy.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kenyon, Jim (June 2, 2018). "Joe Yukica Is a 'Man of Quiet Dignity'". Valley News. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Monahan, Bob (December 22, 1967). "Joe Yukica to Go All Out for B.C. Players". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ "Yukica to Take N.H. Grid Post". The Boston Globe. January 29, 1966.
  5. ^ Keane, Clif (December 6, 1967). "Yukica Voted Top N. E. Coach". The Boston Globe.
  6. ^ "Boston College Names Yukica to 3-Year Term as Football Coach". The New York Times. December 22, 1967.
  7. ^ "Campbell Named Aide To Yukica". The Boston Globe. January 16, 1968.
  8. ^ "Dartmouth's Anderson Joins Yukica at B.C.". The Boston Globe. January 17, 1968.
  9. ^ "Bicknell Added to B.C. Staff". The Boston Globe. January 21, 1968.
  10. ^ Keane, Clif (March 26, 1968). "Yukica Wants Negro Players". The Boston Globe.
  11. ^ a b c Radosta, John S. (January 7, 1978). "Dartmouth Hires Yukica As Head Football Coach". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Concannon, Joe (January 8, 1978). "Yukica leaves BC legacy". The Boston Globe.
  13. ^ Vega, Michael (September 18, 2006). "BC climbing the ladder". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  14. ^ Singelais, Neil (January 1, 1971). "Yukica will stay at Boston College". The Boston Globe.
  15. ^ Concannon, Joe (December 6, 1971). "Yukica decides to stay at BC, calls off talks with Maryland". The Boston Globe.
  16. ^ Remer, Bob (November 30, 1985). "Yukica gets fired". The Boston Globe.
  17. ^ Singelais, Neil (December 3, 1985). "Yukica sues Dartmouth AD for job". The Boston Globe.
  18. ^ "Yukica takes case to court tomorrow". Providence Journal. December 12, 1985.
  19. ^ Singelais, Neil (December 14, 1985). "Paterno, Bicknell, Blackman speak for Yukica". The Boston Globe.
  20. ^ "Judge: Yukica's Pact Was Breached". Newsday. December 14, 1985.
  21. ^ Singelais, Neil (January 14, 1986). "Yukica Has Job for '86". The Boston Globe.
  22. ^ Mather, Lynn. Contemplating Courts, Lee Epstein ed. (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 1995)
  23. ^ "Season-by-Season Results: 1940-99". Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  24. ^ Walker, Brandon (January 22, 2022). "Former Penn State TE, Collegiate Coach Joe Yukica Died at 90". Nittany Sports Now. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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