The week before, Syracuse had lost to a poor Rutgers team. Pasqualoni: In 1984, Syracuse beat Nebraska, the No. As a recruit, you knew about Ernie Davis and Jim Brown, and you knew that it was a friendly place. McPherson: Syracuse had a Black quarterback in every decade except the ’60s. There was a cultural aspect to it as well, like you saw in “The Express” (a 2008 movie about Ernie Davis becoming the first Black man to win the Heisman), with how Syracuse provided an opportunity. You had (Hall of Fame tight end) John Mackey, who had been all-world, and all those guys that wore my numbers. Rob Konrad, running back, 1995-98, and the last SU RB to wear the celebrated No. That weight room really developed an outstanding culture of focus and toughness. Mike Woicik was the strength coach and he was a big key. He got Don McPherson, Teddy Gregory and a lot of other great players. Paul Pasqualoni, head coach, 1991-2004: Coach Mac did a good job of recruiting, especially in that five-hour radius. It was the right philosophy for Syracuse. Then the Dome was built, and Coach Mac (Dick MacPherson) brought in a philosophy: You have to win the recruiting battle within a five-hour drive.
A lot of the talent had been going to the Big Ten and Maryland or going south. But what the Dome (now the JMA Wireless Dome) did was put Syracuse back on the map. We built the Carrier Dome (in 1979) without air conditioning.
When the game started to change and television came in, Syracuse was not very sports business savvy. The business of college football was different back then. Don McPherson, All-American quarterback, 1984-87: What’s interesting about Syracuse about the pre-1980s is (that) we were considered like the Chicago Bears during the ’50s.
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