One of the more interesting aspects of examining history is the concept of the alternate timeline.

41 years ago this month, the wrestling coach at John Carroll University was offered the job as the head coach of the wrestling program at the University of Michigan.

Tony DeCarlo considered the offer - he gave it a solid two weeks of deliberation -- but ultimately turned it down for a number of reasons, the most important being family concerns.

The year was 1978. DeCarlo had been at John Carroll for less than 15 full years at the time. He would ultimately stay in athletics until 2002.

The alternate timeline questions are nearly endless, considering what DeCarlo accomplished after turning down the Michigan job. The big alternate timeline question is what would John Carroll look like today -- from an athletics standpoint especially -- if Tony had said "yes" to Michigan.



DeCarlo Before 1978

When Tony DeCarlo was hired on June 4, 1964, to be the first head coach of the John Carroll wrestling program, he was given the opportunity to build the team from the ground up. The 1962 Kent State graduate was in his mid 20's, and Athletic Director Herb Eisele put faith in a young man who had been the head track coach and an assistant wrestling and football coach for Lakewood St. Edward High School the previous school year to lead the way.

It did not take long for DeCarlo to find success. By 1967, the Blue Streaks had risen to the top of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, and would stay there the duration of DeCarlo's tenure. The wrestling program also ascended on a national level, and when Division III was officially christened as a competitive level by the NCAA in 1973, his wrestling teams were ready. In 1974, JCU finished second at the inaugural Division III championships.

The next year, the Blue Streaks captured the school's first (and still lone) Division III national championship in any sport. In 1976, JCU finished as runner-up once again. 

He also had success coaching tennis and football, the latter of which he was the defensive coordinator for teams that won league titles in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1974.

His success attracted attention. Michigan would come calling.


DeCarlo After 1978

Returning to the JCU sidelines after turning down the Michigan offer for the 1978-79 campaign, DeCarlo would lead the Blue Streaks to another top 12 national finish. In his 14 trips to the Division III national tournament, his teams never finished lower than 12th place. He had one title, two runner-up finishes and nine top fives.

As much as his wrestling success defined his early career, he was just scratching the surface in terms of what his impact on John Carroll athletics would become.

On August 19, 1986, DeCarlo was named the school's Athletic Director, replacing Dr. Jerry Schweickert, who resigned the position because of an overabundance of responsibilities in the Athletic Department.  DeCarlo would coach the wrestling team for one more year, winning the program's 21st consecutive PAC championship to go along with 11 National Catholic Invitational Tournament crowns. 

A few months later, On December 8, 1986, DeCarlo would add another position to his growing list of responsibilities: Head coach of the football program.

"After taking a look at our needs, Tony's strong winning tradition in wrestling and the fact he has kept our wrestlers at the top of Division III, we decided he was our man," said Rev. Michael J. Lavelle, S.J., the school's executive vice president at the time. "Tony had said we were looking for a blue chipper. He is our blue chip."

Lavelle and the school's president, Rev. Thomas P. O'Malley S.J. appointed DeCarlo to the position after the 10th losing season in the last 12 had cost Frank Amato his job following a second consecutive 2-7 campaign.

The "Blue Chip" went to work. In 1987, the football team snapped a long string of losing campaigns by posting a 5-4 mark. In 1988, John Carroll reapplied for admission into the Ohio Athletic Conference. In 1989, the JCU football team won the OAC title and made its first appearance in the NCAA Division III postseason tournament. In the first year of OAC competition, JCU won league titles in football, men's swimming, women's swimming, men's golf (which also qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time), and men's tennis.

In 1991-92, John Carroll captured its first OAC Men's All-Sports Trophy. 

Other firsts followed: Volleyball making the NCAA Division III national tournament for the first time in 1993, men's soccer in 2000 and women's soccer in 2001. Track & Field had its first national top 20 showing, and both men's and women's swimming & diving produced their first national champions.

But what was the "pie in the sky" during his entire tenure was the stadium project. When he first became athletic director and football coach, DeCarlo floated the idea of having a true stadium complex that would house football, soccer and track & field. The idea sat on the proverbial stove for nearly a decade. 

Following the 1998 football season, DeCarlo stepped down as football coach to concentrate on his athletic director duties. After 90 wins (most by any coach in JCU football history), two OAC titles and two NCAA Division III playoff appearances, he was ready to put all his efforts into making the stadium complex a reality.

"What had always troubled me in the dual role of athletic director and football coach was that I never felt I gave one job my full attention," said DeCarlo. "When I made the decision to step down as football coach, I did so with the knowledge that I would be able to provide better support to our athletic program as a whole ... There are many issues on the table, such as facility improvement and fundraising that need my attention more than ever."

True to his word, ground was broken on the stadium project in 2001, and Don Shula Stadium was his final salvo as athletic director, completed in 2003.


Epilogue

The decision their father made back in 1978 benefited his children Debbie, Tony Jr. and Patti DeCarlo. They stayed local, made roots in the Mayfield area, and ultimately attended John Carroll.

Tony Jr. wrestled and played for his dad in the mid 1980's. Patti attended John Carroll and married Gary Naim, and their son, Derek played football here from 2014-2017.

His wife Rita also was spared the uprooting of a family. She became as much of a fixture in the athletic department as anyone not on the payroll, often organizing the parents groups at home football games.

The DeCarlo name became as much of the fabric of John Carroll as any had before or since.

The Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center was dedicated in 2002, and is the home to JCU volleyball, wrestling and basketball.

"All of this is humbling," he said at the time the gym became adorned with his last name. "I loved being at John Carroll, and I loved Division III. With all the problems at major college sports, Division III has so much good. Our athletes do want to get a degree. They do go to class. It's not just sports, it's about education."

Tony DeCarlo passed away on April 18, 2018, and the outpouring was immense. Hundreds upon hundreds of former athletes and supporters of the John Carroll program came from all corners to pay tribute. 

Which leads back to the original question: What if Tony had taken the Michigan job?

The alternate timeline questions ...

• Would there have been a reversal of John Carroll football fortunes?
• Would John Carroll have made the move to the OAC?
• Would the JCU athletic department made the leap forward into NCAA postseason play?
• Would the athletes who came to wrestle and play football for DeCarlo have still come to JCU if he was not here?
• Would Don Shula Stadium have become a reality?

All hard to say. DeCarlo gave 48 years of his life to the university. It is difficult to imagine John Carroll without his impact.

"Once I decided to stay, I never looked back," said DeCarlo in an interview with Terry Pluto back in 2012. "It just didn't feel right to leave. But a number of my friends said I was crazy to pass it up."

There are hundreds upon hundreds who were thankful he did.