Princeton University Men's Football

Surace '90, a man who both won an Ivy League title as an All-Ivy center and met his future wife while at Princeton, returned to his beloved alma mater on Dec. 23, 2009 with the goal of restoring the program to its past glory. Within four seasons, he achieved that mark in record-breaking fashion. Surace, a 2013 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. National Head Coach of the Year award, led Princeton to the 2013 Ivy League championship while setting Ivy League records in both total offense and scoring offense. Despite being picked to finish fifth in the league, and only two years removed from a 1-9 season, Surace guided Princeton to an 8-2 season and road victories over the top three teams in the preseason poll. Surace, who will enter his seventh season at Princeton during the fall of 2016, has placed 52 players on the last four All-Ivy League teams, and he has coached a Bushnell Cup recipient in three of the last four years, including 2014 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Mike Zeuli. A former NFL assistant coach at Cincinnati, Surace has also seen two top defensive linemen Mike Catapano and Caraun Reid get selected in the NFL Draft over the last four years. Even last season, when Princeton finished 2-5 in Ivy League play, the Tigers overcame significant injuries to seven projected All-Ivy League starters, Princeton either led late or had a chance to go ahead in the final minute of four of its five losses. Surace guided Princeton to a historic 2013 Ivy League championship; the Tigers set Ivy League records in both total offense and scoring offense, and placed a league-best 17 players on the All-Ivy League team. Princeton, which averaged 43.7 points per game, saw quarterback Quinn Epperly earn the Bushnell Cup as the league's Top Offensive Player. Epperly was one of two Princeton players to attend the Bushnell Cup banquet in New York City that season, as Reid was a finalist for the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, Reid made Princeton history in two impressive ways. He became Princeton's first two-time First-Team All-America honoree in 20 years when he was named to the 2013 All-America team by The Sports Network, and he became the second player in program history to earn an invitation to the Senior Bowl. Princeton was explosive throughout the season; after scoring 50 points only four times in a span of 469 games entering the 2013 schedule, the Tigers did so five times during their eight wins, including victories over historic rivals Harvard and Yale. That clinched a second straight bonfire at Princeton, a tradition saved for a "Big Three" title. While the 2013 season will be remembered forever for earning the program's 10th Ivy League championship, it is one of three straight seasons with at least a .500 record. After Princeton won the 2006 Ivy League title, the program produced six straight losing seasons and opened 2012 with an 0-2 record. Since then, Princeton has gone 18-10, 14-7 in the Ivy League, and has brought two bonfires to Cannon Green for claiming the traditional "Big Three" title. Last season, Princeton had more All-Ivy underclassmen than any team in the league. There were plenty of highlights over the first three seasons. Princeton rallied from a 24-point fourth quarter deficit to stun nationally ranked Harvard 39-34 in October of 2012; the Tigers scored 29 unanswered points in the final 12 minutes, with the final touchdown coming on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining. Three weeks later, Princeton scored 29 unanswered points again; this time, a Princeton-record 100-yard interception return ignited the Tigers first win at Yale since the 2006 Ivy championship season. Dibilio suffered a stroke following the 2011 season, and has not been able to play since. The 22nd head coach at Princeton, Surace was a first-team All-Ivy center when he helped the 1989 Tigers to a 6-1 league mark and a share of the Ivy title. In addition to his tenure with the Bengals, Surace was also the head coach at Division III Western Connecticut State University, where he put together an 18-3 record in 2000 and 2001. Surace (pronounced "suh-RACE") had served as assistant offensive line coach for the Bengals for the last six years of his time with Cincinnati; prior to that, he served two seasons as an offensive staff assistant. In addition to his work with the line, he played a key role in the entire offensive staff's game preparation. In 2009, that offense helped the Bengals to a 10-6 record and a sweep of their AFC North rivals, including the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Under Surace's leadership, Western Connecticut advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship and won the Freedom Football Conference title in 2001; the win in the NCAA playoffs was the first in school history. In 2000, the Colonials won the Northeast Championship ECAC playoff game. In both of Surace's seasons, the team ranked in the top 25 nationally in the American Football Coaches Association poll. Surace grew up in a coaching family. His father, Tony, was head coach for his high school football and baseball teams in Millville, N.J. Surace began his coaching career in 1990 as running backs coach at Springfield (Mass.) College, where he also earned a master's degree in sports management in 1992. In 1994, when the Canadian Football League fielded teams in the U.S., Surace was with the Shreveport Pirates as the assistant to head coach and general manager Forrest Gregg, the former Bengals coach who guided Cincinnati to Super Bowl XVI. His wife, Lisa, was a four-time letterwinner in women's soccer at Princeton and is a member of the Class of 1992. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is now the Lower School Head at Princeton Day School. They have a daughter, Alison, and a son, A.J. Surace is part of one of the richest traditions in all of college football. Princeton was involved in the first college football game ever played on Nov. 6, 1869, and has played a total of 778 all-time games with an all-time winning percentage of .675 and five former head coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame: William W. Roper, Fritz Crisler, Tad Wieman, Charles W. Caldwell, Jr. and Dick Colman.

Verbit at The longest-tenured member of the Princeton football coaching staff, Steve Verbit will enter his 32nd season at Princeton in 2016, and he has been a member of the defensive coaching staff throughout his tenure. He currently serves as associate head coach to Bob Surace '90, and he continues to coach the defensive line while sharing the defensive coordinator role with Jim Salgado. While Verbit has been on the coaching staff of five of Princeton's 10 Ivy championship seasons, he has had some of his most remarkable successes in recent years. Two of his recent graduates, Mike Catapano '13 and Caraun Reid '14, were selected in the NFL Draft, and Reid served as co-captain of the memorable 2013 Ivy League championship team. Princeton was ranked second in the Ivy League in total defense and rushing defense, and it was third in pass defense that season. The Tigers had multiple All-Ivy League players at each level, including Bushnell Cup finalist and Senior Bowl invitee Caraun Reid. While Reid was only the second Princeton player ever to be invited to the Senior Bowl, it was former teammate Catapano who was named the 2012 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. He shared All-America honors with Reid, who became Princeton's first back-to-back First-Team All-America honoree in more than two decades and was selected in the fifth round by the Detroit Lions. Reid is the highest draft pick for Princeton in the modern draft era. The 2013 defense was known for its attacking style, which translated to 23 takeaways during the season. Princeton ranked third nationally in sacks (3.7 per game), fourth in first downs allowed and 13th in third-down conversion defense. Verbit is one of the most well-respected Princeton coaches over the last three decades and shares close ties with alumni across the nation. He has also helped develop some of Princeton's best defensive players, both as a line coach and during his extended period as defensive coordinator. Over a seven-year stretch during the last decade, 12 different players combined to earn 18 first-team All-Ivy League honors, while three earned All-America accolades. Verbit helped develop a dominant defense during the 2006 championship season, despite significant losses in both the linebacking and secondary positions. Princeton ranked second in the Ivy League in rushing, passing and scoring defense and put four players on the All-Ivy team, including lineman Jake Marshall. It also finished first in the Ivy League in both first downs allowed and third-down conversions. Teams converted less than 28% of their third-down opportunities against the Tigers. Prior to coming to Princeton, Verbit coached at Delaware for six seasons. He helped guide the Blue Hens to the Division II national championship in 1979. Verbit is a Delaware graduate, having received his bachelors degree in physical education in 1977 and his masters degree in exercise physiology in 1980. A native of Pottstown, Pa., Verbit coached the offensive and defensive backs at Pottstown High School in 1977. In 1978 he taught health education at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Del., while serving as an assistant football coach and head track coach. After joining the Delaware staff, he spent two seasons as defensive coordinator for the freshman football team before taking over the defensive secondary of the varsity. Verbit also is the director of the Tiger Football Camps in the Princeton area. He and his wife Vicki are parents of a son Matt and a daughter Kristin. Matt graduated in 2005 as the No. 2 passer all-time at Princeton while Kristin graduated from Villanova and played on its womens soccer team.