Central Florida football coach George O’Leary began his coaching career at Syracuse in 1980.

The 58-year-old wrote on his resume, among other things, that he lettered in football three times at New Hampshire and earned his master’s degree in education.

However, this information was later found to be false when a background check was done after Notre Dame hired O’Leary Dec. 9, 2001.

O’Leary played at UNH but didn’t letter. He took classes at New York University toward his masters, but he never finished.

NIU Athletics Director Jim Phillips was the senior associate director of athletics at Notre Dame when O’Leary was hired. Phillips said he had a chance to talk to O’Leary before he put in his resignation.

“I have a lot of respect for George [O’Leary],” Phillips said. “It was just an unfortunate situation. He’s impacted many young people’s lives, and everybody deserves a second chance.”

The former 2000 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year Award winner resigned from Notre Dame five days later.

“It seemed like an honest mistake,” said NIU football coach Joe Novak, whose Huskies play at UCF at 5 p.m. Saturday. “He was young and put something on his resume 20 years ago and forgot. It shouldn’t affect what happened in his career as a coach.”

O’Leary since has been grouped with current UTEP and former Alabama football coach Mike Price and Colorado football coach Gary Barnett in a ring of coaching scandals.

Amidst the coaching scandals, O’Leary also had a heart attack on New Year’s Eve. The former Georgia Tech sideline boss then had to attend his mother’s funeral the day of UCF’s season opener against Wisconsin.

UCF lost to UW and is now 0-4 after a loss Saturday to Buffalo.

“Everyone wants to win and win right away,” O’Leary said. “As long as you understand what direction you’re heading in and how to get there, I think you’re fine as a coach.”

UCF Athletics Director Steve Orsini, who was an associate athletic director at Georgia Tech during O’Leary’s tenure, said O’Leary hasn’t changed despite all the turmoil.

“Our relationship goes way back,” Orsini said. “His approach to life and coaching hasn’t changed. He’s still the same person.”

After O’Leary spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the Minnesota Vikings defensive line coach, his second chance to take the reigns of a Division-I college football program arose.

Orsini called the Central Islip, N.Y. native and told O’Leary the UCF job was his for the taking.

O’Leary inked a five-year contract Dec. 8, and in that he assumed the responsibility of leading a 3-9 team that had eight players suspended the previous season.

“We’ve set high expectation levels,” O’Leary said. “And we need to keep stretching to reach those goals.”