By Paul Perillo

Since March 10, when Rocky Hager signed on as the tenth head football coach in Northeastern history, his life has been spinning.

Just two weeks after shaking hands with athletics director Dave O’Brien and wrapping up his inaugural press conference, Hager got busy getting acquainted with his team at spring practice. The former Temple University assistant coach and North Dakota State University head coach put together a coaching staff while hastily studying films. Not just films of Husky opponents—films of the Huskies themselves.

“It’s been pretty hectic,” Hager admitted in his office on a rainy mid-July evening. “It was trying getting acclimated to Boston and the surroundings. The challenge for us has been to hit the ground running.”

The good news for Huskies fans: Hager, who until now had no coaching experience at the Division 1-AA level, really likes what he’s seen. From the team’s personnel, to the school’s administration and support staff, to the city of Boston itself, he believes everything about Northeastern is first-class.

“I thought coming in the situation would be very good, and it’s been better than I expected,” Hager says. “The reception has been incredible.”

Hager, a North Dakota native, won a pair of Division 2 national titles at North Dakota State before moving to the 1-A level at Temple.

Along the way, he had a fateful encounter on a bus. At the 1992 American Football Coaches Association meeting in Dallas, Hager and his wife, Peggy, met former Northeastern coach Barry Gallup on a bus ride from their hotel. That fall, the Huskies upset defending national champion Youngstown State at Parsons Field.

“I sent Barry a note to congratulate him,” Hager recalls. “And then Barry wrote me back—I still have that note. We’ve maintained a relationship ever since. Barry is very much responsible for much of the success they’ve had here in the last couple of years. As an example: Adam Bourget has a chance to be a two-time All-American offensive lineman. Barry is the one who recruited him.”

Recruiting battles, Hager believes, will be his biggest challenge. Injuries inevitably disrupt a season. Developing depth at all positions is a perpetual priority. Most football coaches lament they never have enough players, especially at the 1-AA level, where scholarships are limited. This year, all of Northeastern’s recruiting had been completed before Hager came on board. He won’t have a chance to make an impact in that area until next spring.

But he doesn’t anticipate having to ask his players to make any major style adjustments. His predecessor, Don Brown, ran a high-pressure defense that relied on constant blitzing. Hager says he has a similar style.

“I’m very aggressive on defense,” Hager says. “We’re definitely going to blitz. We like to have active linebackers, just like they’ve had here in the past. We’ll probably use different packages, and we’ll use zone blitzes and other stuff. But we’ll stay aggressive in nature and let [defensive coordinator] John Cervino let ’er rip when he needs to.”

On offense, though Hager likes to show balance, he isn’t afraid to adapt to a particular situation. He’ll have Shawn Brady back as quarterback for his senior season, his fourth year as the Huskies’ starter. Ideally, the coach says, he’ll ride tailbacks Anthony Riley and Shawnn Gyles, with Brady sticking in the occasional play-action pass.

The area of biggest difference between Hager and Brown is probably on-field demeanor. Although Hager says he’s “not a ranter and raver,” he does command discipline. And he’s very competitive, a trait Peggy constantly reminds him he has in full. She jokes he wouldn’t even let his three daughters win a game of checkers when they were growing up.

Hager’s struggles for supremacy on the gridiron begin September 4 at Parsons Field in the season opener against Division 2 Cheyney University, followed by a trip to 1-A Navy. This season, Northeastern faces an always-tough slate of Atlantic 10 competition. In between, the team travels across town to take on Harvard on October 16. And NU’s much-anticipated grudge match with the University of Massachusetts—under the direction of new coach Don Brown—takes place November 6 in Brookline.

“I love competition. I love those kinds of games,” Hager says of the upcoming UMass tilt. “In putting together the coaching staff, we wanted to get guys with A-10 experience, and we did that. We’re excited about how things are fitting together. We’re ready to go.”

Over the River and Through the Woods

Northeastern’s indoor and outdoor track programs have been heralded for their successes during coach Sherman Hart’s sixteen seasons at the helm.

But even some diehard running fans don’t know Hart also oversees a third program: cross-country track. Now this rugged contender is making strides, particularly among the women’s ranks, in the race for respect.

Not sure what cross-country is? Well, forget the well-groomed oval. Cross-country matches are run on rough outdoor terrain, across open country, up and down hills. (Like many Boston-area schools, Northeastern uses a course in Franklin Park for its home meets.)

Typically five kilometers in length, the races require unusual mental toughness and physical stamina, especially given New England’s demanding topography and climate (the competition season stretches from September to November). No two courses are the same. Runners have to find ways to succeed on them all.

Order of finish determines a race’s scoring. The winner receives one point, the second-place runner gets two, and so on. A team’s score is the total of its top five runners’ points; the team with the lowest total wins.

For years, Northeastern coaches simply entered their half-milers into cross-country competitions and hoped for the best. These runners were going up against some of the most competitive all-terrain specialists in New England. The results were predictable: NU struggled.

But Hart, buoyed by increased funding, is starting to turn the ship around. Today, the women’s team is no longer composed of distance runners pulled from the indoor and outdoor squads. It’s its own entity, with eager recruits.

“We’re working hard to recruit against some programs, like BU, BC, and Harvard, that already have strong reputations in the sport,” Hart says. “We now have about ten legitimate high school cross-country runners who can put our program on the map.”

Given the program’s relative youth, Hart has relied on a core of four experienced runners to provide leadership for the young place runner gets two, and so on. A team’s score is the total of its top five runners’ points; the team with the lowest total wins.

For years, Northeastern coaches simply entered their half-milers into cross-country competitions and hoped for the best. These runners were going up against some of the most competitive all-terrain specialists in New England. The results were predictable: NU struggled.

But Hart, buoyed by increased funding, is starting to turn the ship around. Today, the women’s team is no longer composed of distance runners pulled from the indoor and outdoor squads. It’s its own entity, with eager recruits.

“We’re working hard to recruit against some programs, like BU, BC, and Harvard, that already have strong reputations in the sport,” Hart says. “We now have about ten legitimate high school cross-country runners who can put our program on the map.”

Given the program’s relative youth, Hart has relied on a core of four experienced runners to provide leadership for the youngsters.

Of the four, Westford, Massachusetts, native Amber Cullen—Hart affectionately calls her “the team mother”—is the lone senior. Last fall, Cullen finished second in a meet against Boston University, a perennial America East power (the Huskies tied the Terriers at the meet), before she was hobbled by a midseason knee injury.

Three juniors—Emily Watson, of Groton, Connecticut; Amy Hicks, of Pomfret Center, Connecticut; and Erin Ballard, of Fishkill, New York—make up the remainder of the squad’s core quartet.

“All these girls ran cross-country in high school, and we recruited them specifically for our program,” Hart says. “We’ve never had this type of experience on our team.”

According to Hart, the team has been making some excited predictions. “They’re telling me how they expect to finish within the top three teams in the conference. I’m so happy to see them being so aggressive with their attitude,” the proud coach says. “We’re experienced enough and hungry enough to really battle UNH and BU.”

Hart is thinking big as well, keeping his eye on a triple crown. “Our goal is to win all three championships in one year—indoor, outdoor, and cross-country,” he says. “No team has ever done that. I’m ecstatic about what’s going to happen this year.”