Coach eyes recruiting, new facility as chance for renewal

GOOD SPORTS

The name of the school has changed, and so has the fortune of its football team.

From 1997 to 2000, McDaniel (then-Western Maryland College) posted a record of 41-5 and won 33 straight conference games at one point. The team was 8-3 in 2001 and 9-2 in 2002.

But McDaniel entered this season with two straight losing years. The Green Terror lost two of its first five games this season and two of the losses were by a combined 63 points.

"I used to be a good coach," said head coach Tim Keating, with a laugh.

McDaniel was 1-9 last year -- the worst record under Keating. This year the team was picked to finish eighth out of nine schools in the Centennial Conference.

Keating has been head coach at McDaniel since 1993. He's the winningest football coach in school history, with a combined 98-60-3 record at the school heading into yesterday's home game Oct. 18 against Muhlenberg (too late for this edition of The Eagle).

"It is frustrating. I feel for all of us," added Keating. "It has been too long since we had a real successful season."

Can Keating, a New York native, pinpoint why the program hit the skids?

"I don't think there is one particular reason," he said. "It's like a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. There are so many things. I don't want to sound like sour grapes."

Keating, who played football at Bethany College in West Virginia, and his family have become part of the landscape on the Hill in Westminster. His wife, Claudia, received a master's degree from the school in 2001.

Their son, Matt, played four years of lacrosse at McDaniel and their daughter, Hillary, is a senior this year. Harry's Main Street Grill even offers a "Coach Keating"-sized chili serving.

"He is a neat guy. He has been an important part of the campus," Richard Kief, vice president for institutional advancement, said of Keating.

While Division III schools can not offer athletic scholarships, many small schools in the Centennial Conference have upgraded their athletic facilities recently.

Keating noted that McDaniel is one of the few schools in its league that does not have its own practice field.

"It would alleviate some of our problems," he said. "You have to keep up with the Jones'."

Keating said he recently lost a potential recruit to another school because the player was impressed with the facilities there.

"He believed they are more committed to winning," Keating said.

Building for the future

McDaniel entered this season as one of just 25 schools in Division III to have 500 wins in football. And though the team has fallen on lean times, Keating has reason for optimism for the future.

This year's team has very few seniors, meaning that many will carry over experience into next season.

In addition, the school's new weight room opened just prior to the 2007 season, and fund-raising is under way for a new football facility at McDaniel -- though Keating has no idea when it will be completed.

Kief, who has been at the school for about 10 years, said preliminary plans for a new facility for football, lacrosse and track and field began about two years and quiet fundraising started last year.

Kief said there's no timetable for when construction might begin.

"We will not start construction until we have the lion's share," said Kief, who estimated about 75 percent of the needed funds (all of which will have to be raised) have been committed so far. Keating hopes to be around when the project is complete. He wants to win again -- and soon.

"I would really like to finish my career here," Keating said.

Keating said about 70 players are in the program this year. That number was closer to 100 when the Green Terror won 10 or more games four straight seasons in its glory days.

Keating has two full-time assistants, three part-time assistants and three graduate assistants this season.

He said most teams in the Centennial Conference have about 10 coaches, while Dickinson in Carlisle, Pa., has 12.

He added the academic requirements of McDaniel players is line with most of the other schools in the conference. Keating estimated 98 percent of his four-year players graduate.

If Keating could wave a magic wand what things would he do to improve the team?

"Oh boy. We certainly need to improve our recruiting," he said. "I have great quality. I don't want to mislead you on that."

Keating and his staff recruit heavily at high schools in the Baltimore area, and as far away as Georgia and Florida.

He believes in the little things -- his staff normally pays for a ticket to games instead of talking their way in as scouts.

"That is not a card we play. It is a great opportunity to support high school sports," Keating said. "It is cheaper than a movie.

"And the hot dogs are cheaper, too."

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