Coach's style a hit in La Crosse

By Dan Manoyan
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Dec. 5, 1996

It was the day after one of the greatest victories in the history of UW-La Crosse football, and Eagles coach Roger Harring was returning to his car after attending church services.

"An older gentleman pulled up beside me and rolled his window down," Harring said. "He said, 'I'm not a sports person, but I wanted to tell you that I appreciate what you've done for the college and for the community.'

"To me, that was more important than winning the football game. It's great to win, but there's a lot more to it than that. It's as important for us to have the respect from non-sports people, like that man, as from sports people."

Gaining the respect of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football fans never has been a problem for Harring and his program, and it certainly isn't now.

The Eagles, who play host to Mount Union (Ohio) at noon Saturday in an NCAA Division III semifinal game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, are involved in post-season playoffs for the 13th time in the 28-year Harring era, and the 11th time in the last 14 years. They won the national championship in 1992 and '95.

Harring's victory total stands at 243, with 63 losses and seven ties, but no triumph was sweeter than the Eagles' 37-30 victory last Saturday over visiting St. John's of Minnesota.

The Eagles needed a nearly miraculous rally, coming back from a 30-8 second-half deficit, to win the game that decided the West Region's representative in the Division III Final Four playoffs.

From a personal standpoint, the victory was made even more satisfying for Harring because he was 0-5 in previous meetings with St. John's and its coach, John Gagliardi, a man Harring considers to be ethically challenged.

Harring was critical of Gagliardi in the week leading up to the game because St. John's sent La Crosse flawed tapes in the NCAA-required exchange of game footage. Gagliardi claimed it was an honest mistake, but Harring charged that St. John's and Gagliardi had engaged in past shenanigans involving game films.

The two veteran coaches -- Harring is 64 and Gagliardi is 70 -- didn't shake hands after the game, but Harring said it wasn't because he didn't try.

"Win or lose, I always make an effort to shake the hand of the other coach because I believe in closure," Harring said. "I want to get that game behind and go on to the next one.

"John will just have to live with it now."

Gagliardi said after the game: "I don't think Roger wanted to talk with me. But there was a lot of celebrating and commotion over there, so I couldn't get to him."

Anybody who knows Harring or has coached against him realizes he is sincere when he talks about putting animosity behind him and chalking up such incidents to the heat of battle.

In La Crosse, Harring has achieved folk-hero status, and it's not all a victories and losses proposition. It would be difficult to fool people in a town the size of La Crosse for 28 years, and Harring doesn't try.

From his unpretentious game-day attire -- a maroon La Crosse Windbreaker and trademark black Greek fisherman's cap -- to his low-key approach to the game, Harring is a classic example of "what you see is what you get."

Harring is known for his self-deprecating humor, turning the subject of his daily afternoon nap, his only concession to the mild heart attack he suffered in 1992, into a standing joke. He blanches when he is given too much credit for assembling La Crosse's football machine, choosing instead to spread around the glory to his players and assistant coaches, especially his volunteer defensive coordinator, Roland Christensen, who has been with the program for 35 years.

His players, past and present, swear by the man. They are grateful to have played for a coach who taught them more about growing up than X's and O's.

"For most of these kids, this is the end of their football careers," Harring said. "We bring them to our Quarterback Club and have them speak in front of groups, things like that. The whole thing is to get them ready for what's ahead of them.

"The football coach that I admire most is Joe Paterno because of the program he runs. He teaches the kids that things are more important than football, like family and hard work."

Harring may be on the same page as Paterno philosophically, but the difference in the football budgets of Penn State and La Crosse is mind-boggling. The La Crosse football program is basically a ma and pa operation, which is exactly the way Harring likes it.

Each year he invites all his seniors to his house for home-made lasagna, cooked by his wife, Mary. The cooking chores used to be shared by Harring's daughters, but they are all married now.

"That's a lot of work," Harring said. "Do you know how many pans of lasagna those guys can eat?"

Harring is even a hero with a sometimes hard-bitten press corps, charmed by his affability and accessibility. Harring returns phone calls, even on those rare occasions when his team loses. He even has been known to offer his spare bedroom to an out-of-town newspaper reporter stranded in La Crosse by a blizzard.

No matter what happens to La Crosse's football team in the next few weeks, Harring plans to be back at La Crosse for as long as he's welcome.

"Every year somebody asks me the same question, and the answer is always the same," Harring said. "As long as I enjoy working with the kids, why not?

"Last week I coached against John Gagliardi, who's still going strong at 70. Roland (Christensen) is 68.

"Compared to those guys, I'm still a kid."

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