Ara Parseghian, Woody Hayes and Joe Novak.

What do these three men have in common? At first glance, not much, until their accomplishments as college football coaches are considered.

Parseghian was Notre Dame’s celebrated coach who won two national championships during his 1964-1974 reign. Hayes led Ohio State to three national championships and 205 wins from 1951-1978. Novak resurrected one of the worst football programs in Division I and returned NIU to national prominence.

While Novak has yet to win a national championship, his connection with the two legends is that he had a tenure at Miami-Ohio, the “Cradle of Coaches.” When NIU steps onto the field with Miami-Ohio Wednesday night, the 10th-year Huskie boss will once again face the school where he began his career.

“There was a period there in the ‘50s and ‘60s where there was a lot of tradition there,” Novak said. “I know myself and a few others went there because they wanted to coach and there was a great reputation for it. I think there were some people in there that always looked after their own. So when they got jobs, they looked for other Miami guys. It was always a very fundamental coaching place.”

The “Cradle of Coaches” moniker became attached to Miami because of the school’s rich tradition of producing coaches. Hayes spent two years as head coach for the RedHawks before returning to Ohio State, and Parseghian was in charge for five years immediately after Hayes left. In all, Miami has produced eight national coaches of the year.

Novak hasn’t done too badly himself, either. After enduring a 23-game losing streak from 1996-98, the Cleveland native brought NIU back to respectability over the next few years. NIU peaked with a 10-2 record in 2003, when NIU cracked the top 15 in the nation. With a 34-21 victory over Troy in the Silicon Valley Football Classic last year, Novak brought NIU its first bowl-game win since 1983.

But every coach needs a start and Novak’s college football experience dates back to 1965, when he was a defensive end for Miami under Bo Schembechler, who later went on to coach Michigan. After his playing career ended, Novak decided to stay on at Miami as an assistant under Dick Crum. Eventually, he hit the road and traveled to Illinois with Gary Moeller in the late ‘70s, and then later earned notoriety as defensive coordinator for NIU from 1980-1983 and at Indiana from 1984-1995 under Bill Mallory.

When asked if he attributed part of his coaching success to his time at Miami, Novak acknowledged Miami coaches had a definite impact on him.

“I was around a lot of Miami coaches,” Novak said. “Dick Crum, when I coached at Miami. Gary Moeller, who I coached with at Illinois. I spent the most years of my coaching career with Bill Mallory for 16 years and he was another Miami guy. My high school coach was a Miami guy. It’s been a big influence.”

As for his most influential Miami mentor, Novak said Mallory had the most impact on him as a coach.

“Probably because I was with Bill for so long, I’ve got a lot of Bill Mallory-isms,” Novak said. “He was a great coach and ran his program with class and he cared about the players.”

To date, there are 18 Miami graduates currently holding assistant or head-coach positions in the college ranks. Some of Novak’s more famous contemporaries include Randy Walker at Northwestern and Ron Zook at Illinois, both of whom are 1976 graduates.

While the Cradle still has its glorious reputation, Novak has said the well is running a little dry lately as no graduates from the 1980s or 1990s currently serve as head coaches. But with each victory NIU produces, Novak further cements his place among the coaching elite.