By Trevor Joelson
Lesson number one for a football manager is silence is synonymous with success. The less that they hear from the coaches, the better they are doing their job. “The silence is our praise,” said sophomore manager Patrick Beiting.
There are 11 managers aiding the University of Louisville football squad, nine of which are on scholarships. They do everything from laundry to running drills in practice. Joey Devore, a junior manager, compared the job to that of being a roadie. They do all the behind-the-scenes stuff that nobody ever notices, but without them Louisville football wouldn’t be a reality.
On gamedays the managers have to be at the field four-and-a-half hours prior to kickoff for all road and home games. They help to set up the field and locker room and prepare the helmets and jerseys. During the game, their responsibilities vary from being ball boys, to helping out in the coaches’ booth to working the dry erase boards.
Even after the game their duties are not done yet. They are responsible for doing all of the players’ laundry after the game, many times after an extremely long road trip. After the Middle Tennessee St. game, the team bus got in at 3 a.m. and the managers were unloading the bus and doing laundry until 6 a.m. Junior tight end, Gary Barnidge, said, “If it weren’t for the managers nobody would ever wash my clothes.”
The managers are also obligated to be there during practice every day. In practice they are in charge of setting up the drills and many times helping to run them. Many people don’t realize how involved the managers truly are in the day-to-day activities of the players that many of the managers call friends. Devore said, “The common misconception is that we are waterboys. That’s the trainer’s jobs, we are more like coaches’ assistants.”
Many of the players acknowledge how important the managers are to the success of the program. Sophomore offensive lineman, Nick Borgelt, said, “They work hard everyday; they are there before us and there after us, they are just as much a part of it as we are.” Junior offensive lineman, Breno Giacomini, said the managers are motivational. “They cheer us on to finish the drills and practice.”
When all is said and done, the football managers spend anywhere from 35-45 hours at football, depending on the week. They also all work the summer camp before school starts where they clock up to 80 hours a week.
The head manager is senior Ben Beiting, who worked for the Baltimore Ravens this past summer. Beiting said, “[Being a manager for Louisville] provides a unique college experience and is a lot better way to pay for college than working at a fast food joint.”
Beiting is also the coach of the football manager’s intramural football team. He said he “gets his inspiration from the offensive mastermind of Bobby Petrino.”
Petrino and the rest of the Louisville football squad must rub off on the managers because, just like the Cardinals, the managers are undefeated and have won every game quite handedly.
During the year, six of the managers live together. Somewhat of a brotherhood has formed between the tight knit group. Senior manager, Kenny Collopy, said, “We spend a lot of time together in and outside of football and in no way is that depressing.” Senior Tim Mayer said that he thinks of it as “the coolest fraternity on campus.”
Obviously there are perks to being a manager, the most important of which is the ability to keep football a part of their life. There are also nine scholarships awarded that includes money for books and tuition to the managers, along with receiving a great deal of free Adidas clothing. This perk is a favorite of Patrick Beiting who said, “When you put on the Louisville football gear the chicks flock.”
And as this band of brothers goes on quietly doing their job they wouldn’t mind one more perk – a free trip somewhere warm for postseason football.
