In '03, Meyer went west to Utah and was named the Home Depot Coach of the Year in '04 when he guided the Utes to a perfect 12-0 campaign. He was promptly named the Mid-American Conference coach of the year. Meyer later apprenticed as an assistant at Illinois State for a year, Colorado State for five years and Notre Dame for four more before getting to call the shots at Bowling Green in 2001. Next he went to Ohio State as a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce and completed his master's in sports administration. By his senior year at UC, Urban had met his future wife, Shelley Mather Meyer, Nur '87, and taken his first step toward his life-long interest in coaching by landing an internship as an assistant at St. Meyer walked on for the Bearcats as a defensive back and lettered in 1984. The star tailback and shortstop was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and spent two years in the minors before tendonitis ended his baseball career. The youngest Urban thrived in sports at St. His children all attended UC - Gigi Escoe, A&S '83, Erika Jones, A&S '86, A&S MA '94, and Urban Meyer III, A&S '86. Next came Urban ' Bud' Meyer Jr., who graduated from the College of Engineering in 1957. It began with their grandfather, Urban Meyer Sr., who taught traffic law at UC and was director of transportation for Procter & Gamble. They talked football.'Įscoe and Urban represent two of many family connections to the University of Cincinnati. 'You know you have a dream job when you are having breakfast with your family the morning after winning the national championship and they come in and say, 'Hey Urb, you have got to take this call, it's the president.' In a weird little way, he was not surprised to be hearing from him. Escoe remembers that Urban took it in stride. One call Meyer did take, however, was when President Bush phoned to congratulate him after his Gators stunned top-ranked Ohio State January 8, 2007. Consequently, she wasn't surprised that he didn't call back when the magazine requested an interview or when she text messaged the request. 'He is low key and very much into the football and very much not into the fame,' says his sister, who usually resorts to text messaging her year-younger sibling when they need to talk. Given the choice of a black-tie party and a backyard grillout, the 42-year-old father of three will reach for his shorts every time, particularly if Jimmy Buffet tunes are involved, says Escoe, the senior associate dean in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. The 1986 psychology grad doesn't grant many interviews these days. She just figured he might have mentioned it.īut that's Urban Meyer's style. He is, after all, the head coach of the 2007 national champion Florida Gators football team. Gigi Escoe was a bit surprised to see her little brother in a Gatorade commercial.

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