The Carleton Ravens have found the man who will lead the much-anticipated return of the school’s varsity men’s football team. After weeks of speculation, former Saint Mary’s Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah was revealed Jan. 16 as the face of the revived program.
The announcement was made by Old Crows Football Inc. president Kevin McKerrow in front of approximately 100 people during a press conference inside the lobby of the Ice House.
Sumarah was smiling from ear-to-ear as he accepted his Ravens jacket.
“These opportunities come once in a lifetime,” he said. “I get to start from paper clips to helmets. We get to brand this program the way we want to brand it. This doesn’t happen very often. This is an unbelievable opportunity.”
After an extensive search process, McKerrow said Sumarah was one of “a handful” of candidates who were shortlisted for the job. While the school received applications from a number of interested parties, he said they actively reached out to the decorated coach.
“We feel that he is an absolutely excellent match with the goals and vision of our program,” McKerrow said. “He’s a proven winner with a record that stands for itself, but equally important to us is his record of building the program on campus and in the community.”
To make sure they found the right person for the job, the school enlisted the services of Old Crow Russ Buckland. Buckland is a managing partner with the Bedford Consulting Group, whom Carleton used for the first time in their search for a head coach.
“In the past we would just post a position and we’d see who applies,” said Jennifer Brenning, Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics. “This is not something we would normally do but certainly the Old Crows stepped up and really helped us with this.”
Sumarah had served as a coach with the Huskies for 13 seasons before his surprise dismissal in December of last year. He said Carleton was the perfect situation for him to jump right back into the action.
“I knew this opportunity was out there. You never want to put your eggs in one basket, but I’m a believer that when one door closes another opens,” Sumarah said. “Did I know it was going to be this quick? Honestly probably not, but I’m so glad it did and I’m so glad to be here.”
The Halifax native began his tenure with Saint Mary’s as an offensive co-ordinator under former bench boss Blake Nill in 1998, winning two Vanier Cup championships in that role. When Nill left for the Calgary Dinos following the 2005 season, Sumarah was the automatic choice to take the reins.
Despite the increased responsibility, Sumarah’s offence continued to be one of the best in the country. Last season, the Huskies ranked third amongst Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) teams in points per game with 37, trailing only the Western Mustangs and aforementioned Dinos.
That sort of thrill is something Sumarah said will be evident at Carleton before his team ever scores a touchdown.
“In the fall of 2013, when you hear the smack of pads for the first time on campus since ‘98, I think the excitement is just going to be unbelievable.”
During his seven-year stint as Huskies head coach, Sumarah led the team to four Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles and a trip back to the Vanier Cup in 2007. He left the school with an impressive 35-12 regular season record, going 42-18 overall.
For his efforts, Sumarah was named AUS coach of the year three times, while also taking home the Frank Tindall trophy as CIS coach of the year in 2009.
Sumarah will need every bit of that experience to help rebuild the Ravens program from the ground-up. Carleton has not seen football action since the first edition of the team was shut down in 1998 after a string of poor performances, both on the field and in the financial department.
The new head coach is well aware that this “rebirth” will need time before results on the field mirror those of his former employer.
“I think realistically you need three years to get the guys gelling as a group. That would be the plan and I think anything less than that would be a disappointment,” he said. “There are programs in the CIS that have never had any success for whatever reason, but I think this school has all the pieces to be successful, now it’s just my job to go out and recruit and bring in the right pieces.”
But before that can happen, Sumarah will need to find approximately 85 players to don the red and black jersey. It’s a process that will begin right here in the nation’s capital.
“With every program, you’re as strong as your local contingent,” Sumarah said when asked of a possible recruiting war with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. “Football is vibrant here and that’s going to be my number one focus to make sure that I don’t lose to Ottawa, any of the top recruits in the city, and then from there it will expand.”
Having to recruit an entire squad means Sumarah will have plenty of chances to sell both the program and school to potential players and their parents. It’s a message he’s been working on already.
“You have an opportunity to make history. You can be part of something special,” he said. “This is a new program and no, you’re probably not going to win the Vanier Cup in year one, but if you stay and you believe, then you’re going to be successful.”
Although the hiring of a head coach will kick things into high gear in terms of recruiting and facilities design, preparations have been underway since the revival of the Ravens was announced in July 2011.
Old Crows Football Inc. hired former Ravens all-star Thomas Timlin as the team’s manager of football operations in September, and the Board of Governors approved the expansion of the fitness centre in the upper level of Alumni Hall, as well as the construction of change rooms in the lower level in November.
The Ravens will return to Ontario University Athletics (OUA) competition in 2013.
