Ara Parseghian’s eight seasons at Northwestern featured No. 1 ranking

Northwestern coach Ara Parseghian lead the cheers as the Wildcats beat undefeated Ohio State 21-0 on Nov. 1, 1958 at Dyche Stadium before a homecoming crowd of more than 51,000 fans. The team had not beaten Ohio State since 1948. Bill Sturm | Sun-Times

1 of 10

Northwestern’s new football coaching staff in 1956. From left, Paul Shoults, Dick Urich, Bruce Beatty, Alex Agase, Bo Schembechler and coach Ara Parseghian.

2 of 10

Athletic Director Stu Holcomb (right) and football coach Ara Paresghian review Northwestern University’s immediate past and plot its future at luncheon meeting in 1958. The two men were instrumental in Wildcats’ rise to football prominence.

3 of 10

Northwestern coach Ara Parseghian gestures to an official as his line coach, Alex Agase, looks on against Ohio State on Nov. 2, 1958. Northwestern defeated Ohio State 21-0. | AP Photo

4 of 10

Northwestern Football coach Ara Parseghian with his 1959 football squad during workouts.

5 of 10

Northwestern coach Ara Parseghian is shown in a dressing room in Iowa City, after the Iowa-Northwestern college football game on Oct. 3, 1959. | Gene Herrick/AP

6 of 10

Northwestern coach Ara Parseghian gestures as he talks off field with Michigan State’s coach Duffy Daughterty on Nov. 17, 1962 in Evanston. His team, which had been No. 1 in the nation eight days before, dropped out of Rose Bowl contention by losing to Michigan State, 31-7.

7 of 10

Parseghian directs his team from the sidelines on Oct. 27, 1962.

8 of 10

Former Northwestern football players were introduced and former coach Ara Parseghian tried on his Northwestern letter jacket on Oct. 23, 2010. | Sun-Times

9 of 10

Former Northwestern football players were introduced and former coach Ara Parseghian is recognized at halftime of the Michigan State-Northwestern game on Oct. 23, 2010. | Sun-Times

10 of 10

Ara Parseghian will be most remembered for winning two national championships in 11 seasons at Notre Dame. However, his accomplishments in eight seasons at Northwestern — including leading the 1962 team to a No. 1 ranking — should not be overlooked.

“Coach was a giant in our community not only because of what his teams accomplished on the field, but what his players accomplished off it,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “His impact will be felt for years to come because of the impression he made on so many, including me.”

He went 36-35 during his career in Evanston. In 1962, Parseghian coached the Wildcats to an 8-2 record. The Wildcat season started out 6-0 before the Cats suffered two losses and the chance to go to the Rose Bowl.

“We were ranked No. 1 for two or three weeks, which was quite an accomplishment,” he said told the Sun-Times in 1987. “We beat Notre Dame and we beat Ohio State on the road, and we came from behind in that game after being down 14-0.”

Despite his unparalleled success at NU, Parseghian grew tired of the limitations in Evanston.

“NU is faced with the problem of being a private school in what is basically a state-school conference. It always was short of depth and numbers,” Parseghian said. “What would happen is by the end of the season, we couldn’t replace the players who were injured. It makes it difficult to go through a season.”

After the 1963 season, Notre Dame had a coaching vacancy. Parseghian reached out to apply for the job and was hired in South Bend.

“It was a difficult time,” Parseghian told the Sun-Times in 2012. ”I had one more year left on my contract, and a writer from one of the Chicago papers was critical of me and said I wouldn’t be around after the last year on my contract. I discussed this with [athletic director Stu Holcomb] and I didn’t feel like I was getting much support. I saw that the Notre Dame job was open and I called over there.”

It was a bitter pill to swallow for NU football, which went into a decline after Parseghian left until Gary Barnett arrived in 1991 and took the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl in 1996.

‘‘We hated to lose him, especially to Notre Dame because it was our archrival and there was a lot of bitterness,” former NU sports information director George Berens said. “Ara’s role [at NU] was so significant.”

For Parseghian, who can count plenty of glory years at Notre Dame, the 1962 season at NU is still a favorite, “more so probably now as time has given our accomplishment and the problems of NU a better perspective.

“It’s a season I’ll remember well because the No. 1 ranking showed the respect the rest of the nation recognized in that team and because they came back to win the last game.”

“But the thing that distinguished that team is the fact that even after the two losses, they came back against Miami to win the last game of the season.”