Former U of L football coach returns to applauseBy Charlie Leffler

Former Univeristy of Louisville head football coach Howard Schnellenberger visited Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium for the Thursday night game against New Mexico State.

The coach took some time before the game to roam around the stadium that he pushed to have built. “It’s very nostalgic and very heartwarming to see how much the fans enjoy this stadium.” Schnellenberger said the football facility is an important part of the campus. “It means a lot. It means a lot of people put a lot of time, effort, and money into it.”

Schnellenberger also pointed out that the facility has a long way to go to reach its potential. “I don’t think that just observing from the outside that uses of this stadium and the importance of it… the tip of the iceberg hasn’t been really realized. That will come with time.”

Even though he enjoyed the Cardinal’s game, the former coach has his own team to prepare this season. Schnellenbeger is now the head football coach at Florida Atlantic. It will be his first return to coaching in six years. “It is really scary,” Schnellenberger said. “It is the most scary thing I’ve ever done. I’ve got a great football team. I’ve got two recruiting classes that were better than the two we had at Miami or at Louisville. My problem is that none of them have ever played in a college football game. I’m going out there with everybody except three guys who have never ever played in a football game.”