Minnick leaving for the sun

JOLIET -- It was a decision Tom Minnick didn't want to make.

But it was one, in the long run, that he could not refuse.

Minnick, 41, has left his job as head football coach at Joliet Junior College to assume the top duties at Arizona Western University.

AWU is a community college in Yuma, which is 2 1/2 hours from both San Diego and Phoenix.

Minnick, who led the Wolves to a 17-6 two-year record and a No. 10 ranking in last season's final NJCAA poll, leaves for Arizona next Monday.

"I think I hit a gold mine," Minnick said. "It's a place where they love football. When I went for my interview at AWU, I was amazed at how much support the football program received.

"From the school president down to the human resources person at the school, the amount of loyalty they give their football program is unbelievable. I came away very impressed."

There is no place to go but up for Arizona Western University, which was 2-8 last season.

Minnick, who will bring JJC assistants Billy Glasscock, Jason DeWolf and Tony Mitchell with him, believes that winning in 2008 is not that far-fetched.

Glasscock will coach the wide receivers, DeWolf will be the defensive coordinator and Mitchell will mentor the defensive line.

"Arizona Western University is a sleeping giant waiting to happen," he said. "This should be a tremendous opportunity for me and my guys.

"It was a no-brainer of a decision. I knew after I visited AWU, I just had to make sure that money-wise, it would be OK. I had to get my assistant coaches out there. What makes a junior college program successful is having great coaches."

Minnick was an all-stater at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., before quarterbacking for NJCAA Hall of Famer Bob MacDougall at DuPage. After playing at the University of Missouri at Rolla, Minnick coached with MacDougall at both DuPage and JJC.

In 2002, Minnick was an assistant for MacDougall and JJC. That season, the Wolves finished 11-0 -- their only perfect season -- and became the first nonscholarship team to win the overall national championship.

In 2001, Minnick was an assistant coach for the Wolves when they finished 10-1 and won the NJCAA nonscholarship national crown. They won the Pepsi Cola/Sigler Printing Bowl with a 14-7 win over North Iowa Area Community College.

Minnick and the Wolves were 7-4 during his first season (2006) as JJC's head coach. Last season, JJC started out 1-2 and took the final nine games to finish 10-2.

A successful season for the Wolves was concluded with a 28-21 victory over North Iowa in the Graphic Edge Printing Bowl in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

JJC athletic director Wayne King believes Minnick made the correct choice.

"Arizona Western has dorms, scholarships and maybe offered him a little more money," King said. "He's going there and will be the big cheese on campus in the athletic department. This was a move up for Tom, not a sideways move.

"But Tom will have to produce. There will be the constant pressure to win. I'm sure he'll do fine."

King worked with Minnick for the last 10 years. Prior to coaching at JJC, Minnick was an assistant for MacDougall at DuPage for seven seasons (1990-1996).

"During his two years as our head coach, we could not have asked anything more of Tom," King said. "As far as making football in the community look good, Tom and his staff did an outstanding job."

While JJC is a nonscholarship junior college, Arizona Western University receives nearly $250,000 yearly in football scholarship funds.

"The scholarships definitely help out a program," Minnick said. "It's like going from Division II to Division I ... Grand Valley State (Mich.) to the University of Michigan.

"At Arizona Western, there's a meal plan for the players, something they don't have at nonscholarship schools.

"We had many great players at Joliet, but you have more of them at a scholarship school. That's just the way it is. That's what scholarships do. They enhance the total program."

Several JJC players will transfer to AWU to play for Minnick. Among them is Bolingbrook High School's Deonte Ball, a talented 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback who was among the top defensive players in the North Central Community College Conference last season.

According to Minnick, several other JJC players may transfer to play for the Matadors in Yuma.

"Deonte has looks from Division I schools like Toledo, New Mexico, Toledo and Akron," he said. "The Joliet-area coaches were good to me and Bolingbrook's John Ivlow was especially great to me.

"I will be back to hopefully recruit some more kids from the Joliet area."

Minnick's wife, Tiffany, was the JJC cheerleading sponsor. The Minnicks have two daughters, Payton, 10, and Morgan, 5.

"The weather is great in Arizona," he said. "My family and I may want to remain in Arizona for a long, long time. It won't be snowing in the winter, so that's nice.

"Sure, it will be hot in the summer, but I guess you have to give up something to gain something."

"I can't wait to get started."