Waynesburg University Athletics

Making history was a theme of the 2006 football season at Waynesburg, but it is in this year that the institution celebrated the 40th anniversary of the greatest achievement in Yellow Jacket football history.

Forty years ago, in Skelly Stadium on the campus of Tulsa University in Tulsa, Okla., the Yellow Jackets, led by head coach Carl DePasqua and first-team all-American running back Rich Dahar, defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater 42-21 to cap off an undefeated 11-win season and claim the 1966 NAIA National Championship.

On Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006, Waynesburg honored the 1966 team during a halftime ceremony that featured some of the most recognizable names in Yellow Jacket football history.

“Over the years, it’s becoming more and more a team of fate where we knew we were a team with potential to win a few games, but never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we were going to win a national championship,” said Dahar.

Dahar rushed for a Championship Bowl record 233 yards in the victory.

The reunion’s festivities, which included a golf outing, a luncheon and tailgating prior to the game, the halftime ceremony, and other celebrations and get togethers, were organized by several members of the championship team, including former defensive tackle Fran Bedont.

“With any great achievement, as time goes by it seems to magnify the significance of it. We realized now after 40 years what we did might never be duplicated,” said Bedont.

“None of us are getting any younger, and coaching staff is healthy and well so we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to bring everyone together.”

The reunion was more than showcasing a piece of Waynesburg history. It was a reunion of a close group of friends who just happened to win a national championship.

“We’re like brothers. Just a team, along with the coaches, that made something of history here at Waynesburg,” said Dahar.

“At that time, there were hundreds and hundreds of small college football teams and we had the opportunity to come to Waynesburg College and we appreciated that opportunity,” said Bedont. “As a result of that, we all stuck together and we were great friends and won a national championship that no one expected us to do.”

The reunion not only brought friends back together, but it also brought back the memories forged by a group of football players 40 years ago.

“I think, in winning the national championship and playing those games, every emotion you know of goes through your body and mind and it’s the same here,” said Dahar. “It’s nice seeing some of the coaches that we haven’t seen for a while. Some of the players came back for the first time this year. It’s really a great thing.”

One of the coaches that Dahar referenced was head coach Carl DePasqua, the only coach in Waynesburg history to win a national championship.

“It was a situation that was unbelievable. They were an outstanding group of young men. They were great academically and in football terms,” said DePasqua. “It was a great experience for me. Everybody that contributed with this institution, the players, the teachers, the cheerleaders, the administration, they were all part of this accomplishment.”

In leading the Jackets to an undefeated record and the championship, DePasqua was honored with several coach of the year awards. In his two seasons as head coach, he experienced unprecedented success finishing with a record of 19-1, the best record of any coach in Waynesburg football history.

The reunion also brought a connection between the history of Waynesburg football and today’s athletes.

Dahar, who holds, or at one point held, a number of individual records at Waynesburg, along with others who have also had similar accomplishments, had the chance to watch for the first time some of the players chasing or breaking his marks.

“Records are there to be broken,” said Dahar. “You know, the best players in the world end up getting their records broken at sometime. So it was nice to have so many records for such a period of time, but now it’s time for these guys to take over.”

Dahar jokingly claimed that he probably could have run for an extra hundred yards or so if he had run on the new FieldTurf surface.

Needless to say, the 1966 championship team exemplifies what a successful team is all about, athletic talent, hard work and a bond that is as strong today as it was 40 years ago.

“I’m honored to be here,” said Dahar. “I’m honored to be around these guys that have meant so much to me all these years.”