"You gave me a chance, coach. I'll never forget that."
 
This afternoon I heard that statement from a senior that had just played the last competitive football game of his career. What came next had me with tears in my eyes and reminded me of why I am so proud to do what I do, where I do it.
 
He said, "I'm not done yet coach. I'm going to do big things. Thank you."
 
That's because Slippery Rock football players don't come to Slippery Rock just to play football, they come to graduate. If all goes to plan, they walk across the stage with a degree in one hand and a championship ring on the other.
 
The coach in reference is George Mihalik, himself a full-time professor with a doctorate degree that somehow in this day and age manages to teach classes, advise students and coach a top 10 nationally ranked football program.
 
Mihalik is a rare breed. A man that truly embraces the "student" part of the student-athlete and does so by making sure every Rock football player knows the number one goal for any person in the program is to earn an SRU degree.
 
That message was no more apparent to me than when I heard this senior say he wasn't done taking advantage of the chance Mihalik and Slippery Rock gave him. He's done playing football, but in a moment of defeat as tough as losing in the NCAA quarterfinals, he immediately recognized that there is more to come.
 
A total of 18 players finished their Rock football careers Saturday. Many of them will finish their college careers next week with the winter commencement ceremony. Most will finish in May and join a proud and massive alumni group.
 
How proud this group is continues to blow me away. Today I spoke with people that flew from Florida to D.C. and then drove from D.C. to Shepherdstown, West Virginia for a game. I talked with people that traveled from Virginia Beach, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and of course Pennsylvania.
 
That alumni group includes Mihalik himself, who was an All-American quarterback for The Rock in the early 1970s. He epitomizes the ultimate American college football story. The star quarterback marries the cheerleader and then comes back to be the head coach at his alma mater, but this story doesn't end with a jump to a big Division I program and a million dollar contract. Someday, and I hope that isn't anytime soon, it will end where it began, right here in Slippery Rock, at home.
 
The cheerleader is Laura Mihalik, who still totes her cowbell to every Rock football game, no matter where it is. If there's a person here that loves Slippery Rock more than George Mihalik, it may be Laura.
 
After the game, she said something that really resonated with me. She said that people have no idea what it takes to have a winning season, let alone to have a great season.
 
She's right. It starts with the coaches, athletic trainers and support staff and it trickles down to every player on the team. Thousands of hours are spent by the coaching staff in film study, meetings, practice prep, game planning and actual gameday coaching. And none of that would matter if the players weren't healthy. Cue Dale Thornton and his outstanding student staff of athletic trainers, who work countless hours all year to make sure Rock football players can stay on the field. And we can't forget the equipment and logistics. Steve Saylor and Ron Steele, who aren't even full-time employees, coordinate logistics and manage equipment and uniforms, along with a team of undergrad interns, as if they were a full-time D1 staff.
 
But what Laura didn't mention, is that this team isn't complete without her and her family, daughters Jenny Lee and Beth and their husbands and children. The passion the Mihalik family has shown to this program for more than 40 years has resonated through decades of players. The family atmosphere Mihalik has created has become the identifying piece of The Rock football culture.
 
Earlier this week, I set up some players for interviews with various media outlets. Four different players, talking to four different media outlets, all used the words "family atmosphere" and "brotherhood" when describing why they ended up at The Rock and what makes this place so special.
 
How could you ask for anything more? A program where you can win meaningful games, win championships, play in front of big crowds and on the biggest stage, all while spending every day with your brothers and your family. I don't think you can. I think that's the most special part of this team, this family.
 
Mihalik gathered the team postgame today and struggled to come up with the right words, a rarity for the veteran coach.
 
"I just don't want to let you go. It may not feel like it right now, but one day you'll look back and remember this and your heart will be full of pride. You'll be proud that you wore the Green and White. You'll always be part of the Green and White."
 
The team pulled in close together for one final break, and to no surprise, closed the year with "1-2-3 Brotherhood."