Coach Mac to Join Ring of Honor on Nov. 23

Richard "Dick" MacPherson, affectionately known as 'Coach Mac,' guided the Syracuse football team for 10 seasons and built the program back into a National Championship contender. Far more than a legendary coach, he also embodied his faith through care for those in need, and is known by many for his mentorship and impact at Syracuse University and throughout Central New York.
His name will be the latest to join the exclusive Ring of Honor in the JMA Wireless Dome, in a celebration for his contributions to the University and football program, on Nov. 23 when the Orange hosts UConn. Additionally, to honor his devotion to service and inspire others to follow his example, the University will host a ceremony to rename the Hendricks Chapel food pantry to the Coach Mac Food Pantry at Hendricks Chapel.

"Our father would be so deeply thrilled by being included in the Ring of Honor, as well as having the food pantry named after him," said MacPherson's daughters, Maureen and Janet. "As the 11th of 12 children born in the great depression, he knew something about hard times. He also knew what a gift the good times are, starting with the day he got the job here at Syracuse University. He and our whole family immediately came to love the great Syracuse University and the entire community, which is why we all made it our forever home. Thank you for this wonderful honor, from the bottom of our hearts."

Coach Mac arrived at Syracuse in 1981 and led the Orange to a 66-46-4 mark in his tenure, including a 3-0-1 record in bowl games. He presided over the second unbeaten season in program history, as the 1987 team posted an unblemished 11-0 regular season and tied Auburn, 16-16, in the Sugar Bowl. He was a consensus pick for national coach of the year that season, earning the honor from 12 different groups, including the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the NCAA, among others.
"Coach Mac was much more than a football coach. He was everything to everyone, including his family, our community, our football program and college football," said Director of Athletics John Wildhack. "Coach Mac built our football program back to national prominence and did so with an emphasis on developing each student-athlete as a person and a player. He impacted countless lives in the process and we are all grateful for his contributions to Syracuse. I am thrilled he will now be permanently honored in the JMA Wireless Dome in the Ring of Honor."

Established in 2020, the Ring of Honor is an honor bestowed on individuals named as Syracuse University's most outstanding student-athletes or coaches to compete and/or coach in their associated sport. MacPherson joins legendary football players Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, hall of fame basketball coach Jim Boeheim, star hoops players Dave Bing and Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, six-time national champion lacrosse head coach Roy Simmons Jr. and national title winning football coach and war hero Ben Schwartzwalder in the exclusive club.

"Coach Mac was a Hall of Fame coach, and an even better person," said broadcaster Sean McDonough '84, who interned for Coach MacPherson during his time at Syracuse. "He's certainly deserving of joining the Ring of Honor for his football success alone, but I think when you add in what he meant to the community and the University, that's what makes him stand out. He was a force in the community and a much loved person throughout Central New York. He's as fine a man as I've ever known. I had the honor of working for him for 3.5 years as a student, where I was probably the lowest-ranking person in the football office at the time, but he treated me like I was the starting quarterback. He was exceedingly kind to everyone because everyone was important to him. I'm thrilled he'll take his rightful place among the all-time Syracuse greats in the Dome."

For more than a decade, the soon-to-be named Coach Mac Food Pantry at Hendricks Chapel has been dedicated to assisting students who are experiencing hardship. An estimated 29-percent of college students nationwide experience food insecurity. Hendricks Chapel's food pantry services support an average of 150 students per week and has served as many as 370 students in a singular week.

Through the generosity of McDonough and others, the naming of the food pantry also coincides with continued efforts to transform the food pantry into a best-in-class service for students. Contributions to the food pantry will create opportunities such as: diversifying the offerings of the food pantry, which will be of particular assistance to international students, providing a series of community meals that help destigmatize accepting support, development of a food delivery system and transportation options for students unavailable to visit the pantry, and more.

In addition to his success as a football coach, MacPherson was known for his devout Catholic faith, and for putting his faith into action in numerous ways, including collecting food items for those in need. During his funeral in Hendricks Chapel in August of 2017, numerous speakers shared stories of Coach Mac's beliefs and the commitment to service, and the renaming of the pantry is intended to inspire others to support those in need today.

"We are overjoyed to rename the food pantry in honor of Coach Mac, as he truly embodies the spirit and soul of Syracuse University," said Dean of Hendricks Chapel Brian Konkol. "We are grateful for the generosity of those that helped to make this happen, and my hope is that others will be inspired to support those in need."

The Coach Mac Food Pantry at Hendricks Chapel will continue to seek support to help fulfill its mission of service. Those wishing to honor Coach Mac and support the food pantry are encouraged to visit the Hendricks Chapel giving page.

MacPherson came to 'Cuse needing to rebuild a team that had won just 34 of its last 89 contests in the eight years prior to his arrival. After consecutive seasons of 4-6-1 and 2-9 to open his tenure, MacPherson began to turn things around with a winning record in 1983 (6-5) that included a pair of top-15 wins over northeast rivals Boston College (#12) and West Virginia (#15).

One year later, the Orange stunned No. 1 Nebraska in the Loud House, 17-9, signaling the program's resurgence.

In 1985, MacPherson led the team to its first bowl appearance in six years with an invitation to the Cherry Bowl. A year later, his squad won four of its last-five games, setting the table for one of the most memorable seasons in school history.

Everything came together for MacPherson's crew in 1987. The Orange opened with a 25-11 win against Maryland, the start of an 11-game winning streak. When Syracuse won back-to-back encounters at Virginia Tech (35-21) and Missouri (24-13), the team improved to 5-0 and subsequently made its first appearance in both national polls since the start of the 1971 season.

The sixth game of the campaign put the Orange up against long-time rival Penn State before more than 50,000 fans in the Dome. The Nittany Lions had trounced Syracuse the year before, 42-3, and came into the game ranked 10th nationally. Don McPherson opened the contest with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Rob Moore and the Orange jumped out to a 41-0 advantage before the game ended in a Syracuse victory, 48-21. The win moved 'Cuse into the Associated Press Top-10 for the first time in 19 years.

Four more victories followed before a critical pairing with West Virginia in the regular-season finale. McPherson again came through, connecting on a 17-yard touchdown pass with just 10 seconds remaining to pull the Orange within one. Coach Mac decided to play for the win, and Michael Owens found the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion to wrap up the perfect regular season.
Fourth-ranked Syracuse would go on to tie Auburn in the Sugar Bowl after the Tigers opted for a short field goal as time expired to knot the game at 16.

"My relationship with Coach Mac was deeply personal. That was also true for each of my teammates," McPherson '87, the 1987 Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Award winning quarterback, said. "Make no mistake, the "father figure" was a hard-nosed, old school football coach and that personal relationship was full of tough love. He epitomized the role of a coach of young men; teaching love and respect for the game and those around us. As we matured, we realized two things about his wisdom: it was timeless and it transcended football.

"His impact on us players, Syracuse University and Central New York is immeasurable. I speak for all my teammates who are grateful for Coach Mac and today, are proud in seeing him rightfully included in the Ring of Honor. God love ya, Coach!"

After leading the school to a 36-10-3 record over his final five seasons at the helm, he departed after the 1990 season to become the head coach of the New England Patriots, after laying the groundwork that kept Syracuse as one of college football's premier programs.

The 1987 campaign started a run of 15-straight winning seasons. He also mentored some of the game's top coaches in his tenure, many of whom went on to become successful head coaches. Gary Blackney (Bowling Green), Randy Edsall (Connecticut, Maryland), Jim Hofher (Cornell, Buffalo), Bill Maxwell (Hobart), George O'Leary (Georgia Tech, Central Florida), Paul Pasqualoni (Syracuse, Connecticut), and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State, Ohio State), all came from the Coach Mac tree as former assistants.

MacPherson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. He continued to be involved in the program after his retirement from coaching. He worked for BIG EAST TV and was also the radio analyst for football games on the Syracuse Sports Network, where he teamed up with Dave Pasch and Matt Park.

MacPherson died on Aug. 8, 2017. He had a loving family, including his wife Sandra, daughters Maureen and Janet, and four grandchildren, Richard "Macky," Cameron and Susan MacPherson and Molly Sweeney. Both Macky and Cameron played football at Syracuse.

Syracuse University Athletics

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