At the forefront of the football renaissance at Robert Morris University throughout its 18-year history is Joe Walton, who has built the Colonials from a fledgling program into one of the top Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams in the region.
The one constant associated with the program, Walton was named the first head coach July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, completing everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for the team's inaugural season in 1994.
Walton's fingerprints are all over the football program, and to prove that, the Colonials have played their home games since 2005 in a stadium that bears his name.
During his tenure, Walton has led Robert Morris to the first Northeast Conference championship in 1996, guided RMU to a perfect 10-0 season in 2000 and in 2010 helped lead the Colonials to the NEC's inaugural bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs with their league-high sixth regular-season championship.
"It's hard to believe," Walton speaks on how fast time has elapsed. "I've said this many times before, and I mean it when I say that this situation is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. It happened at the right time. Before this position became available, I felt I was too young to quit coaching, but I wasn't anxious to get back into pro football. When this came along, it was the perfect fit. This situation was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to do what I like to do, and I've loved every minute of it."
Under Walton's tutelage, the Colonials have claimed outright NEC regular-season titles three times (1997, 1999, 2000) while sharing three others (1996, 1998, 2010). Walton led Robert Morris to back-to-back ECAC Bowl victories in 1996 and 1997, and in 1999 and 2000 he guided RMU to a pair of NCAA I-AA mid-major national crowns according to Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette.
In 2010, Walton added to his legacy by engineering the Colonials on an eight-game winning streak for a share of the NEC regular-season title and the NEC's first bid in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In the process he picked up his 100th career victory in the collegiate ranks.
Walton enters his 19th season at the helm of the program in 2012 and during the 2011 season signed a two-year contract extension to remain head coach of the Colonials through the 2013 campaign, which will be his 20th season at Robert Morris.
In addition to announcing a two-year contract extension, Walton also announced he will step down as head coach of the Colonials after the 2013 season and serve as a special assistant to the director of athletics at RMU.
"I wanted to coach 20 years with this program, because it really has been the love of my life, and that's what's important," Walton said at the time of his announcement. "I'm confident that whoever succeeds me as head coach will carry on the tradition of Robert Morris football. I'm also extremely excited to stay on and help Dr. Coleman and the department of athletics in any way that I can."
Thanks to Walton, the blueprint for success has been established, and with every new year a new set of challenges arises.
"One thing about football is that it's a constant challenge," Walton said. "Whether it's the next game, or the next season, or the next group of players, there is always going to be a challenge, and that's something that I enjoy. There's always something you're shooting for. The biggest challenge is getting the team back up when it's down. Nobody likes to lose, but the most satisfaction is seeing players develop, not only on the field but as young men."
In 1994, after 35 years in the National Football League, Walton took 64 freshmen at a school that never had football in its 73 years of existence and posted a 7-1-1 record 13 months after being named RMU's first head coach. That team won its first game 21 days after the start of training camp and won five straight to start the season.
The following season Robert Morris went 6-4, after which the Oakland Raiders drafted running back Tim Hall in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Walton led RMU to Northeast Conference and ECAC Bowl titles in 1996 and 1997 with 9-2 and 8-3 marks, respectively.
The 1998 Colonials, with 12 first-year starters, dipped to 4-6, yet Robert Morris shared the NEC title. In 1999, RMU posted an 8-2 record, a fourth straight NEC championship and a final No. 1 ranking at the NCAA I-AA (now FCS) mid-major level according to Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. That was followed by a 2000 campaign that saw the squad finish a perfect 10-0, the first undefeated season for any program at RMU. In the process, the team won its fifth straight NEC championship and another No. 1 ranking at the NCAA I-AA (now FCS) mid-major level according to the Football Gazette.
The Robert Morris 2001 squad finished with a record of 6-3 and missed out on its sixth straight NEC title, but the Colonials rebounded to post six straight victories after starting 0-3. In 2002, with 13 players in the starting lineup either freshmen or sophomores thanks in large part due to injuries, RMU finished 3-7, then rebounded to post a 6-4 record in its 10th anniversary season in 2003.
In 2004 the Colonials finished with a 6-5 record, and despite a 2005 season in which Robert Morris posted a record of 2-8, the club rebounded to post a record of 7-4 in 2006. Despite finishing 4-6 in 2007 and with identical 5-6 records in both 2008 and 2009, RMU rebounded with one of its best seasons in school history in 2010, claiming its sixth NEC regular-season championship and the program's first bid to the FCS Playoffs.
Despite dipping to 2-9 in 2011, the future remains bright. The addition of Joe Walton Stadium and the program's run to a championship in 2010 pays dividends in recruiting.
Prior to RMU, Walton was out of football from 1991 to 1993, and it didn't sit well with him. So he came back. He and his staff canvass the country in recruiting, and that work has paid off. RMU wins almost 60 percent of the time with Walton on the sideline.
"Our number one priority is to attract as many student-athletes as we can," he said when appointed. "I enjoy young people. I missed teaching and coaching and I wanted to stay in the area. When the opportunity arose, this seemed perfect. The campus is behind us 100 percent."
This not being the NFL, Walton had some unfamiliar tasks at first. He helped convert John Jay Center into a facility to house football operations. He set out on the recruiting trail in the fall, much as he prepared for every draft day from 1964-91.
By the same token, the familiar was easy to retrieve. His first appointee was Dan Radakovich, a defensive wizard who was an assistant when Walton was head coach of the New York Jets and was with Walton for 13 of the first 14 years RMU had a football program.
When Radakovich retired in 2008, Walton promoted another alumnus of the NFL, John Banaszak, to be RMU's assistant head coach. Banaszak won three Super Bowl championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been an assistant on Walton's staff since 2003.
Walton had his most recent NFL duty in 1990-91, when he served two years as Chuck Noll's offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. When Noll retired in 1991, a new staff came aboard, and Walton went into the moving business.
From 1983-89, Walton led the Jets. Also among his years in the NFL were two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Jets (1981-82), seven with the Washington Redskins (offensive coordinator 1978-80; running backs 1974-77) and five with the New York Giants (wide receivers 1969-73).
Walton was twice an All-American at the University of Pittsburgh at tight end and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round (14th overall selection) of the 1957 NFL Draft. He spent seven years in the NFL as a tight end from 1957 to 1963 with both the Redskins (1957-60) and the New York Giants (1961-63), compiling 178 receptions for 2,628 yards and 28 touchdowns. Upon retiring in 1964, he spent four seasons as a scout with the Giants.
Since returning to the area in 1990, Walton has lived in Beaver Falls, Pa., with his wife, Ginger, who passed away in September of 2007. He has two daughters, Jodi and Stacey, and one son, Joe. Walton married his second wife, Patty Sheehan, Dec. 10, 2011, and the couple currently reside in Beaver Falls.
Walton's NFL protégés include Rich Kotite, Bud Carson, Joe Theismann, Fran Tarkenton, Norm Snead, Ken O'Brien and Richard Todd.
