JCU legend DeCarlo dies at 77

During the fall on football Saturdays, Tony DeCarlo would arrive at the Don Shula Stadium press box for John Carroll football games.

His usual seat was always reserved for him, and for good reason.

DeCarlo was an institution at JCU for nearly 50 years.

Heavy hearts abound throughout the JCU community because DeCarlo passed away peacefully April 18 at his Cleveland home surrounded by family, the school announced April 19. He was 77.

“Tony DeCarlo was devoted to the growth of John Carroll student-athletes as a coach, mentor, and advocate,” said JCU interim president Jeanne Colleran in a statement. “On the field, he pushed our athletes to the highest levels of competition, and as athletic director and later as fundraiser, he positioned future generations of Blue Streaks to thrive on and off the field.

DeCarlo is a graduate of Harvey High School and Kent State, and spent time as a wrestling and football coach at St. Edward High School before arriving at JCU in 1964 to take over the wrestling program there. He immediately turned the Blue Streaks into a national power.

He was also the football team’s defensive coordinator and tennis coach. But as the wrestling coach, he led JCU to 21 straight conference championships. By 1975, the program delivered a Division III national championship. The team crowned four individual champions, including Harvey grad Charlie Becks Sr.

As wrestling coach, DeCarlo mentored 14 national champions, 62 All-Americans, and was 213-65-1 in dual meets. He was the DIII national coach of the year in 1974.

By 1986, he was named JCU’s athletic director. A year later, he stepped away from the wrestling mat and took over as head coach of the football team, and immediately turned the program into a winner.

DeCarlo’s teams recorded 12 straight winning seasons, amassing a record of 90-27-4. His 1989 and 1994 teams won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship, with the latter season earning him Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors. He received the award a second time in 1997, when the Blue Streaks won the first NCAA Division III playoff game in team history.

Case Western Reserve coach Greg Debeljak, who grew up in Mentor, was the quarterback for DeCarlo’s first team in 1987, said his influence steered him into the coaching profession.

“It was his leadership,” said Debeljak about what made DeCarlo stand out. “He was a take-charge guy, and Tony was a winner, and he worked relentlessly to win. His goal was to be the first coach to win a national championship in two sports. He was passionate about that, and he came close. That drove him and everyone around him.”

Longtime St. Joseph/ VASJ coach John Storey was DeCarlo’s defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1998. Storey said the legacy he built at JCU is evident in the student-athletes he helped mold while in college.

“There’s a number of guys who wrestled and played football for him that are out in society doing wonderful things,” said Storey. “He’ll always be remembered for building character in those guys. He’ll be truly missed.”

DeCarlo retired in 2003, and JCU renamed the varsity athletic gym as Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

“All you have to do is walk around the school,” said former JCU men’s basketball coach Mike Moran about DeCarlo’s legacy at JCU. “Half of it is named after him. In my case, I just loved him to death.”

Even in retirement, DeCarlo remained closely connected to JCU, spearheading fundraising for Don Shula Stadium, one of the finest D-III football stadiums in the country.

“He wore so many hats,” said Moran. “He was a great coach — wrestling, football. So much admiration for him. He was great fund raiser. He’s the reason for that football stadium. He spearheaded the project. He put (John Carroll) on the map.”

DeCarlo was so successful during JCU’s wrestling heyday that the University of Michigan courted him to be its coach. DeCarlo said no thanks to the offer.

“I think the main reason he didn’t leave was because this was his home,” said Moran. “He loved this area. His family and friends all lived here. He was happy. He loved Cleveland and loved the university.”

DeCarlo is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rita, and their three children — Debi Rachek, Tony, and Patti Naim, their spouses, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Memorials for DeCarlo will be held April 27 and April 28. Calling hours April 27 at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center are 2 to 4 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass is April 28 at the Church of the Gesu with a memorial luncheon and program at noon at the DeCarlo Varsity Center. All are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 216-397-4336 or alumni@jcu.edu.

COURTESY JOHN CARROLL ATHLETICS Tony DeCarlo and his wife Rita are shown during a ceremony at a John Carroll football game.

COURTESY JOHN CARROLL ATHLETICS Tony DeCarlo won a national championship as John Carroll wrestling coach, and was 90-27-4 as the school’s football coach.