M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Conversation with a Cougar
by Kelly L. Martinez

Catching up with Gary Crowton is as challenging as a fourth-and-goal situation.  Not willing to settle for the field goal, Meridian finally scored by catching up with the BYU head football coach via cell phone late last week.  Coach Crowton had some interesting things to say about being a coach, raising a family, studying the scriptures and replacing a legend.  

Special thanks to Shirley Johnson, Football Secretary, and Jeff Reynolds, Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations, who helped secure this interview and provided the accompanying photographs. 

Take it away, Coach! Where and when did you serve your mission?
I served my mission in South Korea.  I reported to the Missionary Training Center on Dec. 2, 1979 and came home mid-December (1981).

How does the discipline and routine you learned as a full-time missionary help you now?
As a missionary, I had to learn how to use my time well, like with scripture study in the morning and getting enough sleep.  I was raised to be that kind of person even before my mission, so it fit right in with the lifestyle I had as a missionary.

There are so many disciplines that come with being a member of the Church that are beneficial. 

Do you still use the Korean language?
There was nobody to speak Korean with after my mission until I came to BYU.  Now, I’m finding more and more people who speak Korean.  I can still converse a little bit.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Orem, Utah.  I went to Orem High School.  At the time, there were only two high schools in the county.  There were a lot of orchard farms, though.  I grew up picking cherries and strawberries, and I had a paper route.  The area was pretty good for those kinds of jobs.

Tell me about your family.
My wife’s name is Maren.  Her maiden name was Petersen.  She’s from Bountiful and she never went to BYU.  We met at Snow College.

I have seven children: Dane, 15, Tara, 14, Jenessa, 11, Quinn, 8, Mikauli, 6, Toriana, 2, and Gunner Macleoud, 5 months.

Do any of your children show promise athletically?
Dane’s a sophomore in high school and he’s trying out for the football team.

Tara is a great gymnast.  She’s one of the best at her level in the state.  She’s done well at the state meets.  It’s still a little early to tell, but I think Tara might be a college athlete someday.

Jenessa likes softball, loves to rollerblade, rides her bike a lot and goes to the girls’ basketball camps.

I don’t put pressure on my kids to do well in sports.  I want them to have fun.  The more interest they show and want my help, I am glad to offer it.

You once said in an interview that your family is involved with the team at BYU.  How are they involved?
The one thing that’s good about coaching is that your family can be involved if they want to be.  They can come to practice and see their father work.  In other occupations, there’s just no opportunity for the kids to come and watch their dad work … or there’s no interest in what their dad is doing, especially at a young age.

My son Dane was a ball boy when I was with the Bears and he came with me to Wisconsin for summer training camps.  Here at BYU, my kids can come to practice if they want.  I take them to eat at the dorms.  They get to watch the games and have a lot of fun at them.  We live really close to the campus, so that’s a real plus also.  At Boston College, we lived about an hour away from the school.  Here, we live about 10 minutes away at the most.

How long did you coach in the NFL?
Two years.

What did you like most about your time in the NFL?
One thing most people don’t understand is that even though we played games on Sunday, I had more family time on Sundays while I coached in the NFL than I did at most of the colleges where I’ve coached.  On game days, we just played the game and then I was able to go home.  We never worked on Sundays during the off-season, except during the draft.  Some college coaches require their staff to work all day Sunday.  When I was at Boston College, that was one of the most difficult things I had to deal with.  I’d have to show up at 7:30 on Sunday morning and work until 9 p.m.  I had almost no time with the family on Sundays at other colleges.  In the NFL, even though we played our games on Sunday, I got to go home after the game.  We also had short days on Fridays and Saturdays.  We’d hold our practices in the morning because school and classes weren’t a factor for the pro players.  So I was off all Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Who were your athletic role models while growing up?
I liked Roger Staubach as a player.  I liked his clean-cut look and level of discipline.  I also liked Don Meredith.  The Dallas Cowboys were my favorite team.

How about spiritual role models?
I’ve had a lot of really good spiritual role models.  My parents raised me in the Church, so I’ve had a lot of good teachers and leaders.  A scoutmaster by the name of Gary Dayton had a lot of influence on me when I was younger.  He took me on outings to the Grand Canyon and on a houseboat.  Bishop Cook and Bishop Ballard, who were some of my old bishops, were great examples of hardworking men that loved to serve the Lord.

Do you hold a church calling?
I teach my ward’s 16-17 year old Sunday School class.

What are your feelings about the upcoming 2002 season?
Optimistic.  I have a great staff to work with and we have some promising players.

Are there any promising players that are currently in the mission field?
We have 12-14 players that will be returning from missions within the next year that are on scholarship with us.  Every one of them looks promising. 

What has it been like replacing LaVell Edwards?
What he’s done during his tenure here as head coach is a great example to me.  I like his demeanor and the way he handles things.  He’s very patient.  The example he is has been the greatest thing to me.  He’s made himself available to me whenever I needed someone to talk to, giving me some good advice and guiding me in the right direction, but has otherwise kept his distance.

Are there any particular scriptural passages that give you guidance in your responsibilities as head coach?
I have several that help guide me as a person and as a coach.  I don’t separate the two.  One of the earliest scriptures I learned was 1 Nephi 3:7, and it continues to help me today.  Another is Alma 32:21 which talks about faith.  Yet another is Mosiah 4:27, which talks about getting ahead of ourselves and what is really expected of us.

What can you tell me about the new lockers that are being donated to the BYU football program?
When I was at the University of New Hampshire, we wanted to put in a new locker room.  We wanted to have some kind of tribute to the former players and we wanted to get them involved.  As it was, they would play for us, and then they’d leave.  So what we did was ask them to donate $500 per locker.  Their name, along with everyone else’s name that had worn that number, would be put in the locker so they could be enshrined in the university.  Of course, it helped our program financially, but it also created something the former players could bring their kids to see. 

When I came to BYU, the lockers in the stadium were not very big and not very impressive from a recruiting standpoint.  I thought this would be a good thing to introduce here.  We’ve had a great response from former players.  I’m buying myself a locker as a coach and LaVell’s buying one also.  I think I might buy one for my grandfather, who was a player here.

So this effort is open to all former BYU football players regardless of how much they played?
This effort is open to all former players, managers and coaches that have ever been a part of the BYU football program.

How can they get involved?
They should call Val Hale’s office and ask what they need to do to get involved. Editor’s note:  Val Hale’s office can be reached at (801) 422-8704

Have you ever met President Hinckley?
I’ve never met him in person.  I came close to meeting him.  He was standing about 15 feet away from me when I interviewed for the BYU job.  He was talking to another of the Brethren and waiting for a ride.  President Hinckley is another one that I have a deep love for as well.

Who did you interview with for the BYU job?
I interviewed with Elder Ballard and Elder Eyring.

Wow!  Can you tell me what that interview was like?
(Laughs)  Well, they’re both good men, so they made me feel very comfortable.  It was a very calming interview.  You can feel a real spiritual strength around them.  I really enjoyed meeting with them.  They want me to win, I can tell you that.

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