Ernie Mc Coy (athletic Director) - University of Miami

University of Miami

McCoy came out of retirement in February 1971 when the University of Miami asked him to serve temporarily as athletic director until order was restored following the resignation of Charlie Tate. In November 1971, McCoy hired Pete Elliott to become his successor as Miami's athletic director starting in 1972. Those plans went awry when Miami football coach Fran Curci resigned in December 1971 to take a job at Kentucky. McCoy asked Elliott to take over as head coach on an interim basis. McCoy agreed to remain the athletic director for another year so Elliott could focus on the football team and then take over as athletic director once the football program was settled. McCoy noted, "We're protecting the title of director of athletics for him because that's the job he came here for. He agreed to take the coaching job in a dire emergency." McCoy had coached Elliott in both basketball and football at the University of Michigan in the late 1940s. The 1972 football season did not turn out well for Miami, as the Hurricanes drew only 22,000 fans a game. McCoy also became embroiled in a controversy with administrators at Tulane University in October 1972. After an official lost track and granted the Hurricanes an illegal "fifth down", Miami scored the winning touchdown with one minute left in a game against Tulane. The touchdown broke an eight-game Miami losing streak, and Tulane administrators and New Orleans sports writers bitterly attacked McCoy for poor sportsmanship when he declined to forfeit the game as a result of the game-changing error. McCoy defended his decision, noting that he had consulted with several national football authorities, who had advised him that NCAA rules discouraged forfeitures in order to avoid creating a precedent for appellate decisions on games changed by allegedly improper officiating decisions. McCoy finally retired as Miami's athletic director in November 1973, leaving Elliott as his successor. At the time, McCoy said, "This is it for me. I'm going to retire and go back to Pennsylvania and leave it to Pete and his staff."