"If Rocky is remembered as Rocky, then that's okay. When you come in here, you should know that you can count on me. If you need help and I can give it, I will. That's the way Rocky is."
That was the answer that Rocky Carzo, Tufts' athletic director for the past 26 years, gave me when I asked him how he wanted to be remembered when he steps down from his post this summer.
I thought about it, and at first I wasn't too pleased with the answer, as I was looking for something profound to include in my column. But then I looked back and thought to myself, "After working with and developing a relationship with Rocky for three years, what comes to mind when I think of him?'
Well, he's just Rocky - someone who, through his sports stories, has instilled in me the three things that he preaches: always have a positive attitude, work hard, and learn from your mistakes.
More often than not, Rocky conveys his messages using sports analogies. The first thing he talked to me about last week was his three keys to coming out on top as a person.
"So many times you win when you don't deserve to win, or win by accident," Rocky said. "Other times you lose when you shouldn't lose. Whether it's because of chance, accident, the ball bouncing the wrong way, whatever you want to call it, you can't control everything that happens.
"Some days you have good days, and some days you have bad days. How can you put it all into perspective and not drive yourself crazy trying to win with all those factors? That's the way life is. Sometimes, even if you work as hard as you can and do everything possible, things won't go as planned.
"So what perspective do you place on winning? You have to make sure if you lose, you didn't go in there with a lousy attitude, poor work ethic, and didn't make the same mistakes that you did before. That's how you avoid having any residual guilt from things not coming out the way you planned. You can't complain about anything if you go in there with a positive attitude, bust your ass, and avoid the same mistakes. There are some things that you just can't control, but you can hold yourself accountable for making sure you do those three things. There is a difference between getting beaten and losing. That carries over to everything you do in life."
Rocky firmly believes in everything that he said there, and that is what he has tried to develop within the Tufts community. He take pride in all of the on-field recognition that Tufts has received, but he is prouder of the attitudes that the athletes and people within the department develop, and how the students turn out after graduation.
"There is a saying that your trophies are under your roof," said Rocky. "That means a lot to me - the trophies and the accomplishments. But the people that work here like the coaches are the ones that I think are under my roof and part of the family. I don't think that I could've done any better in bringing good people to Tufts. If you bring in good people, they perpetuate the values - the values and traditions from one generation to the next. This doesn't come just from the coaching staff, but it's the entire community we have built here."
Rocky spent the past 43 years as a coach and administrator. He had previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of California under NFL Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy. He earned the head coaching position at Tufts in 1966 and was promoted to athletic director in 1973. Rocky also served in various national positions, including Vice President of the NCAA from 1989-1991. Meanwhile, Rocky opted to remain at Tufts over the lure of Division I schools, and even turned down coaching offers from the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders.
"The thing that I love about Tufts is that Rocky can be Rocky. I can be just what I am. People at Tufts consider athletics part of the whole scheme, not just an appendage. If I was at a Division I school, I would have to run a Division I-A business. I don't want to run a business. In Division I, entertainment is an extremely important ingredient, and it almost overshadows the educational aspect of a school. Our situation is just the opposite. So, we don't have to make compromises about what is right and what is wrong, like with admitting an athlete who doesn't belong.
"I like being part of the campus here. I love being a professor, going to faculty meetings, and just doing all the things I do here. I need a lot of different things to do, and I have it here."
As he completes his last days as athletic director, even a tough football guy named Rocky admits that it has been an emotional time for him. Rocky also said that the response he has gotten from the department, students, and school has been overwhelming.
But of course, nobody will be able to keep Rocky away from Tufts, as he is working on several projects, including some research on leadership in sports. Through information from former athletes, coaches, and even Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, Rocky has been essentially trying to get a better answer to, "What is leadership?" He found that it all ties back into hard work and can be applied to life itself.
"In the research that I've been conducting, a lot of former athletes have said to me, 'When I thought I was working hard, I didn't even scratch the surface. It wasn't my coach. It was me. I was the one with the lousy attitude. The coach was the one trying to make me do better,'" Rocky said.
Tying it back to students, Rocky said, "The same thing goes with a professor. Maybe you don't like him, but he's the boss or the coach. He's just trying to make you do better."
It seems that whenever Rocky is giving me an interview, speaking with me when we bumped into each other, or just talking up a storm at a reception, he is always trying to teach both me and the others around him about life; always trying to help.
And as I walked out of his office last week, he offered his help in any way that he could through my senior year, job hunt, and after graduation.
And you know what went through my head? That's just Rocky being Rocky.
