VALPARAISO -- The F in Andy Waddle's team motto of F.I.G.H.T. stands for being fearless.
"Don't let your fears get in the way of opportunities to go be great," the new Valparaiso University football head coach said at Wednesday's introductory media conference. "Behind that fear is an awesome opportunity. Being fearless is a little bit of blind faith, pour yourself into something you don't know the outcome. That's all right, we'll take what comes."
There's certainly an element of blind faith in Waddle's decision to take over the Beacons program, which has had just one full-schedule winning season since 2003.
"The last championship was too long ago, 2003," VU President Jose Padilla said. "We've got to get back, and we can. We have the student-athletes who can do it."
In Waddle, the school found somebody who knows something about building a winner from challenging circumstances.
When he took over as the head coach at NCAA Division III Marietta (Ohio) College in 2013, he inherited a program that had won three or fewer games in each of the previous six years, was coming off an 0-10 season, and had a winning record just twice in a 20-year span. The program enjoyed as many winning seasons in Waddle's final eight years as head coach as it had experienced in the previous 30 years combined.
An eight-year run of sustained success that began in 2017 culminated with an 8-0 start, every game with a margin of at least 28 points, and Marietta's second-ever postseason appearance (its first since 1973) as the Pioneers competed in the Extra Points Bowl.
"When I took the job at Marietta, there hadn't been a successful coach in quite some time, a lot longer than there's not been a successful coach at Valparaiso," he said. "I've managed to build something. I know what that looks like. I have a blueprint of what I did and what I'm planning to do here. Every school has its strengths and its set of weaknesses. You have to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, figuring out what those strengths are as we go."
The first year or two, Waddle recalled 'scrambling to get the roster filled.'
"We had a lot of work in front of us at Marietta," he said. "There were a lot of things that needed to be changed. We just continued to do the things we believed in, even though the results weren't there at first. We focused on recruiting great fits, high quality people, building a really strong culture, getting the right guys at the right positions, and we were able to sustain that for a while."
Valparaiso Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer joked about putting on pads for the first time in her life and running through a wall after hearing Waddle speak for a few minutes.
"He's someone who has built and sustained success and done it the right way. who understands who we are at Valpo," she said. "His team plays complementary football. He recruits the right people who have the right fit. He's a fierce competitor. He has a desire to create a family that fights for each other that was evident throughout his message. We're thrilled for the next chapter of Valpo football under his leadership."
While he makes no promises or predicts a quick fix, Waddle obviously saw things that made the Valparaiso job appealing.
"I'm excited to be a part of this mission, to take this step," he said. "It's an amazing opportunity. It wouldn't be any place, it needed to be the right place. I had a board with 2025 written on it. When I get to 2025, you're going to be where you're going, or stay here and be here. I knew this was the right time and the right place. I understand there are no guarantees. The G stands for grit, the pursuit of long-term goal that you will not touch today but you have to work for today. Overnight success is years in the making."
In the age of Name, Image and Likeness and college athletics resembling professional sports with players holding out to the highest bidder, succeeding at the non-scholarship level is harder than ever.
"Downstate is a little different animal than what we are at Valpo," Waddle said of how IU built a playoff team with a new coach and an influx of players. "The (transfer) portal is always going to be part of the recruitment. It will be an opportunity to hit some positions of need. We need to make sure the values match up, that it's the right fit, the academic profile, not only people you can win with, but that the community can be proud of."
Waddle points to the school's academic reputation and its location as drawing cards.
"I think the location is awesome. I couldn't imagine being in a better place," he said. "For me and a lot of athletes, being in a great mid-size town like Valparaiso is awesome. It's what I wanted to be a part of, a standalone city not engulfed with the Colts or Bears. We have the opportunity to be the big show here in town, to get involved in the community. The makeup of the community is a great selling point."
The current roster includes less than 10 local players.
"I think any successful program that isn't looking within arm's reach is foolish and probably not successful," Waddle said. "There are talented players in Northwest Indiana who I think can help us who we're going to recruit. Are there enough to win in the (Pioneer Football League)? Probably not. We'll probably need to spread arms a little further than that. We'll need to go out and find good fits from a lot of other places, maybe fairly far away or a little bit further away. We're pretty close to some really good football in Chicago and Indianapolis and all those areas in between."
Process is a buzz word in athletics, and that will be no different with Valpo football.
"The focus will be very much be going 1-0, 1-0 on the rep, 1-0 on the day, 1-0 on the week," Waddle said. "It's result-oriented, so I get it, that will be what I'm going to be measured on, I accept that as a coach, but I really want to focus on the process. The focus on daily responsibilities to get better, that process will lead us to the results we've earned. If we get those wins, we will be build that culture the right way."
Valpo was 4-7 this season.
"(Previous) coach (Landon) Fox did a good job bringing the program where it is," Waddle said. "We'll try to do our best to keep as many of those high quality people, high quality players because we're going to need them and we're going to need to add some. We have the opportunity to continue on the path we're on and take it to the next level."
As Waddle concluded his remarks, he re-emphasized the F.I.G.H.T. motto.
"I promise you this, Valpo football is going to fight," he said. "I want you to embody each letter of F.I.G.H.T. Toughness is about what's it take to break you, what can you withstand. It's mental, physical and
emotional. I'm promise you, I'm going to coach tough men. I'm going to ask for sacrifice, we're all going to endure some pain. To the players, I know you didn't choose me, but I chose you. I'm going to expect our guys to work. I promise you will get 100 percent of who I am, I will be absolutely all in, I will give my life to this place."
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