Norries Wilson Introduced as Lions' Football Coach at Press Conference
12/11/2005 7:00:00 PM | Football
Dec. 12, 2005
NEW YORK - Norries Wilson took the reins as Columbia's 18th head football coach at a press conference held today in Francis A. Levien Gymnasium on Columbia's campus.
More than 200 players, staff, friends and members of the media were on hand to hear Wilson, who was named head coach Sunday, Dec. 11. Introducing Wilson were President Lee C. Bollinger and Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, director of athletics.
Press Conference Highlights
Please note that this is not a complete transcript
Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University
"This is a very important moment for athletics at Columbia and also for Columbia."
"It is my belief that athletics are a critical part of a university experience. I have said this over the years. Fundamentally, I think the combination of the intellectual and physical capacities that are involved in competitive athletics are as important an experience as just about anything else we do. I believe that deeply. I also believe that in order to have a successful athletics program, you have to be striving to be the very best at what you do, whether we're talking about a philosophy department, a school of law or a biochemistry department."
"Dianne Murphy has put her heart and soul in bringing in our next football coach. I was immediately won over by his humor, by his wit, by his dedication to this kind of program. I believe that he, too, will put his heart and soul into it. It couldn't make us happier to have this fresh start."
Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education, Columbia University
"Today is a proud day for Columbia University."
"We are convinced that the man we have selected is the best person to be the head football coach at Columbia. Norries Wilson is the right fit for Columbia Football. He is a true leader, in every sense of the word. His people skills and his passion, along with his knowledge of the game will produce the results that we want from the Columbia Football program."
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"We have developed a plan for victory for Columbia Football. We know that we can achieve greatness and we will finally address some of the opportunities that have been ignored for too long. We are serious about this. We are committed to building the infrastructure of our football program - not just hiring the right football staff. Our plan, which has been endorsed by the University at the highest levels, includes short-, mid- and long-term initiatives. In the next few weeks, you will learn more about the plan. Coach Wilson will help shape and execute our plan, and begin putting it into action right away."
"More important than any line on his resume are what people say about him. When we talked to the many people who know him, the same qualities kept popping up in our conversations. Everyone who knows Coach Wilson knows that he is genuine. He cares about his players on and off the field. He is passionate, organized, disciplined and intelligent. He is an excellent football coach."
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Wilson does interviews following the press conference |
"Columbia is one of the finest institutions in the world in the greatest city in the world here in New York City."
"Dianne Murphy got me very excited about taking this opportunity here at Columbia University."
"I want to thank the people at Connecticut, who had no issue with me leaving; I don't know if that is good or bad. Coach Edsall took me from Bucknell, he made me the coordinator and let me run with it, and we did some good things."
"I look forward to working with the young men on the football team here at Columbia. I understand the young men who come here are eager about New York City, they are eager about playing football at Columbia and they are eager about changing what's going on here with the program. I am going embrace that as long as they embrace it, and as long as they understand we're going to set small goals on our way to reach our ultimate goal, and that is to get to the top of the Ivy League and win the Ivy League title. That's not going to happen overnight, but we don't expect to wait until the next millennium either."
"We're going to need help from our alumni, from our community of coaches and from our players to rededicate themselves to being the best they can be. I understand the faculty here is fantastic and they help and support our young men. When we become successful, it won't just be a team success, it will be a program success and a university success. We want everyone to be a part of that."
"There's a lot of things going on here. I want to say that we're going to be successful in football here at Columbia. A lot of people don't believe that. A lot of my friends call me and say, "Coach, what are you doing?" And I say, "Well, we're going to go win some games." We're going to win with whoever wants to come. We're going to teach them how to win and leave them with a great experience as far as playing football."
