Here's his bio off the CUA (Division III member of Old Dominion Athletic Conference) website before they yank it down:
Head Coach Tom ClarkTom Clark established a new benchmark of success at Catholic University. In seven years as head coach before taking the defensive coordinator position at Division I-AA William & Mary, he made winning seasons and NCAA playoff contention seem almost routine. But nothing is routine about his work ethic as he constantly strives to produce teams of high-caliber young men dedicated to attaining success on the field, in the classroom and in life.
Clark’s hard work paid handsome dividends in 1999 when the Cardinals went unbeaten (6-0) in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play to win their first-ever league championship and earn their third consecutive bid to the NCAA playoffs. Clark coached his seventh and eighth first- or second-team All-Americans at CUA and was honored by his peers as ODAC Coach of the Year.
Clark, on the strength of his 29-4 (.879) record over the past three seasons, has emerged with the nation’s third-highest winning percentage (.828) among Division III coaches serving at least five years. He picked up his 50th career victory last season to rank second on the school's all-time victory list, and his win percentage leads all Cardinal football coaches.
After consecutive 10-1 seasons in 1997-98, Clark’s 1999 club won nine straight games to finish 9-2. The team was ranked as high as fifth in the preseason, 10th during the year and 18th at season’s end. Five of his players received All-American recognition, headed by first-team linebacker Brian Hee and second-team running back Andrew Notarfrancesco. Eight players garnered All-ODAC honors, including five first-team selections and Notarfrancesco as Player of the Year.
Despite the disappointment of losing 20-16 at Western Maryland in the first round of the 1999 NCAA playoffs, Clark put the setback in perspective after the game.
“We are a group of people that can see the bigger picture,” said Clark, whose teams have set 89 offensive records in his six years at CUA. “Life goes on, and we’re going to go to church Sunday. We’ll be fine.”
Clark’s success has not gone unnoticed by local and national media. His 2000 club entered the season ranked 7th by Sports Illustrated, while Preview Sports tapped his ’98 team at No. 4, the highest preseason ranking in club history. The Cardinals have enjoyed coverage in such prestigious publications as The Washington Post, USA TODAY, The Washington Times, Street and Smith’s, and The Sporting News. Clark has been a guest on cable station NewsChannel 8’s Sports Talk Show with Glenn Harris and his teams have been featured on local TV stations WRC (NBC), WTTG (FOX), WJLA (ABC) and WUSA (CBS).
Clark’s 1997 club fashioned CUA’s first undefeated regular season before dropping a first-round NCAA playoff game at Trinity (Texas), 44-33. The team featured three first- or second-team All-Americans, including Jeff Clay— who led the nation in receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,625)—and record-setting quarterback Kevin Ricca.
Clark’s remarkable success at CUA should surprise no one considering that his first team (1994) won seven more games than the previous year to tie the NCAA record for best turnaround. For his success in revitalizing the program, he received the 1997 Division III Newcomer Award from American Football Quarterly magazine.
The Cardinals began the 1995 season ranked 17th by Sports Illustrated, their first national ranking since joining Division III in 1977. CUA (6-2-1) concluded the season by winning three of its final four games. The next year, Clark guided the Cards to a mark of 7-2 and narrowly missed a postseason berth in the NCAA or ECAC playoffs.
Prior to his arrival at CUA, Clark was head football coach and athletic director at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md. He compiled a 38-23-1 record from 1988-93 and guided the Mustangs to four consecutive playoff appearances.
McNamara won the 1990 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship with a record of 9-1. The team finished No. 4 in the Washington, D.C., area and Clark was honored as Coach of the Year by the WCAC, The Washington Post, Prince George’s Journal, Prince George’s Sentinel and the Brookland Club. He was also chosen as a head coach for the WCAC All-Star game.
Clark began coaching in 1980 at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where he had played halfback and cornerback on two WCAC championship teams in 1974-75. He was head JV coach for two seasons before being promoted to varsity defensive coordinator in 1984.
The following season Clark came to CUA for the first time as defensive backs coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1986, and the Cardinals recorded 37 interceptions those two seasons.
Clark worked under Bill McCartney as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado in 1987. The star-studded coaching staff included Gary Barnett (Colorado), Ron Vanderlinden (Maryland), Gerry DiNardo (Birmingham, XFL) and Lou Tepper (Edinboro). In the 50th annual Blue-Gray All-Star Classic, Clark coached the Blue team’s defensive backs. Four of those players, including current Minnesota Viking Cris Dishman, played in the NFL.
Clark founded the Mid-Atlantic Summer Passing League in 1989, the first Washington, D.C., area league to emphasize the passing game by eliminating linemen. It started with five teams, grew to 20 and has spawned five similar leagues in the area. He also started his “Big Man Camp” that summer for high-school offensive and defensive linemen. In 1991 he was selected offensive coordinator for Maryland in the “BIG 33” Football Classic between Maryland and Pennsylvania prep stars.
Clark, who hosts a popular coaches’ clinic each summer, was instrumental in CUA’s entrance into the ODAC as a football-only member. He and Director of Athletics Bob Talbot had worked on bringing the Cardinals into a conference since 1994. Their diligent effort paid off in February of 1999 when CUA was admitted as the ODAC’s seventh football-playing institution.
Thomas Allen Clark Jr. is a native of Washington, D.C. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1986. He and his wife Laurie lived in Olney, Md., with their son Kevin (Feb. 24, 1992) and daughter Samantha (Aug. 10, 1995).
Cardinals' success, year by year in his 1st Stint at CUA
1999—9-2—ODAC Title, NCAA Playoffs
1998—10-1—NCAA Playoffs
1997—10-1—NCAA Playoffs
1996—7-2—Fifth in South Region
1995—6-2-1—Preseason No. 17
1994—8-2—Seven-win Improvement
6 yrs.—50-10-1—.828 Winning Percentage
2nd sting at CUA:
2004 - 0-10
2005 - 2-8
2 yrs.-- 2-18 -- .100 Winning Percentage
