Quarterbacks, interceptions … and the Bible.

Although not commonly associated with each other, this combination of topics was the reason about 100 men gathered at the Union Friday evening.

Bill McCartney, former college football coach and founder of Promise Keepers, spoke to the group about his experience with coaching as well as with religion. McCartney was a coach for a combined 32 years at the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado, before beginning Promise Keepers– a Christian group helping men live according to their roles as defined by the Bible.

“I’m here to tell you my story,” McCartney said to his audience. As a football coach, McCartney felt spiritually malnourished, he said. He was constantly working, and as a result, was not able to spend much time with his wife and four children.

When a running back on his team invited McCartney to attend a Christian group, McCartney accepted, in what would become a personal turning point for him.

“It changed my life,” he said.

At the meeting, he was given an audio tape and a workbook as a form of studying the Bible.

Initially, McCartney and his wife invited five other couples to study with them. After a year, the men began gathering on their own, talking about the Bible once every week over breakfast. This group of six men grew over time, until the restaurant that held their meetings was filled with up to 80 men every Tuesday morning. These men shared the belief in living their lives according to the Bible–much like McCartney executed each game according to his playbook.

“All of us have a playbook available to us,” McCartney said.

McCartney’s coaching and religious life began to mesh together, he said, as he began praying for his team.

In 1980, he began to see the fruits of his labor.

Coaching for the University of Michigan at the time, McCartney and his team had a big game coming up against Purdue. He prayed and prayed for his team to win, he said.

“As a result of praying, I got an idea … to play with six defensive backs,” McCartney said. “Sure enough, that Saturday, Purdue couldn’t even make a first down.”

This win resulted in McCartney’s hiring as a coach at the University of Colorado, where he was named National Coach of the Year in 1989.

McCartney resigned from coaching in 1995, because he wanted to devote more time to his wife, family and religion. Since then, he has continued to live a more religious life, but admits that he still is working on modifying how he lives.

“I’m not there yet, but I’m changing,” he said.

Before introducing McCartney, University football coach Gregg Brandon spoke of his own experience at a Promise Keepers meeting.

“It was one of the most profound things I’ve ever done in my life,” Brandon said.

McCartney was brought to campus by Falcon Football and the Northwest Ohio chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.