Coach Page Cotton stood just beyond the south goal line on a crisp night this fall at Boswell Field. With the Tiger men's soccer team competing against Hiram College in the NCAC semi-final, the game was too exciting for him to sit down.
In the final two minutes, Hiram and DePauw were netted in a 1-1 score. The Tigers stormed down the field on offense and got off an excellent shot just deflected by the goal keeper.
"There it is! That's within two minutes!" yelled Bill Wagner, sports information director for DePauw, pointing at Cotton.
Cotton smiled, held up two fingers and nodded, acknowledging one of many lessons he learned through his 39 years of coaching at DePauw: in the final two minutes, the team that's down often catches an opposing team off-guard. In this case, DePauw had allowed the equalizing goal in the 76th minute and was considered the team playing from behind.
Soccer is more than just a game to Cotton: it is a tool to prepare student athletes for the real world. At DePauw, where academics work hand-in-hand with athletics, Cotton strived to provide an excellent experience to all student athletes. As DePauw's soccer coach, Cotton amassed a 390-190-33 and just seven losing seasons, the last one being in 1981. He retired from coaching in 2007.
Cotton assumed the athletic director role in 1996 and in late August of this semester he announced he was retiring to become a senior advisor to President Brian Casey. After 42 years on and off the field, Cotton leaves behind a legacy of excellence.
John Bertram '89, a goalkeeper who played under Cotton, calls his former coach a father figure.
"The lessons I learned on the soccer field were just as important to me as the lessons I learned in class," Bertram said. "I would refer to Page Cotton as a molder of men. He would take a young person, bring him into his system, and those who stayed and worked out were successful and evolved into more productive members of society."
Learning the collegiate game: Springfield College
Cotton grew up in Massachusetts and attended Springfield College because it was close to home and one of the top schools in the nation for athletics, especially soccer. The head coach, Irvin Schmid, was a national icon in the sport during the late 1960s and Cotton earned a chance to be on the starting squad his sophomore year as a defender.
Schmid was not going to start Cotton, but a player in front of him blew out his knee, forcing Cotton into the starting role. In Cotton's first year of starting in 1966, Schmid's young team went 4-7-1, but the year set the team up nicely for future success, especially in Cotton's senior year.
"We thought we were going to be good, but we didn't know how good," Cotton said. "I'd been elected captain, and we ended up with an undefeated season."
Early in that 1968 season, his Springfield team beat Div. I Brown University 3-1. In that season, Brown went to the final four in the NCAA Div. I tournament.
Tony DiCicco was the goalkeeper for Cotton's team his senior year. DiCicco went on to compile a record of 108-8-8 as a women's soccer coach, eventually coaching his teams to a gold medal at the 1996 summer Olympics and to a World Cup title in 1999.
"We relied a lot on the two guys in the middle to link the four in the back to the four up front," Cotton said of his team's 4-2-4 lineup. "I played very simple. If the ball came to me, I would keep it moving and pass it along. I was always looking for a challenge, if there was a strong forward, I wanted to mark him."
Led by Cotton and DiCicco in goal, his team went 13-0-3 and won the New England Championship title under coach Schmid.
"He exposed me to the importance of fundamentals and not so much tactical stuff, but more about team work and being able to execute at speed," Cotton said of Schmid. "Playing simple and linking players together with small passes."
Under one of the nation's top soccer coaches, Cotton unknowingly built his own coaching philosophy based off his own experience as a player.
Decision to coach at DePauw, early struggles
After the soccer season ended, Cotton was faced with the prospect of post-graduation life. He was met with a dilemma: either enlist in the army (because of the draft) or go to graduate school. His athletic director told him about an opportunity to coach at a small, liberal arts school in Indiana.
"My mother thought it was a good idea," Cotton said. "So I decided to take it. I loved the game, but I didn't know how coaching would really work out."
Cotton first visited DePauw after he graduated on July 20, 1969. Cotton vividly remembers the day because that night, he watched the first moon landing in a hotel in Indianapolis. In a graduate assistant position, Cotton began coaching and working for his master's degree in teaching. But just one year removed from being a player himself, Cotton struggled to adapt to his new role.
"It was extremely difficult, I was not a very good coach," Cotton said. "As good of a player I thought I was, there was so much I didn't know about the game. I was more apt to want to demonstrate than to explain."
In his first two years of coaching, Cotton went 6-12 during the years of 1969-1970. In that second year, Charlie Erdmann, who was the previous head soccer coach, came back from sabbatical and mentored Cotton.
What was most difficult, Cotton explained, was that close to 50 percent of the team had never played soccer before and recruiting was virtually non-existent. With Erdmann as a mentor, Cotton formed a basic coaching philosophy built off of fundamentals – exactly what he learned as a player under Schmid at Springfield.
"It made me cognizant of how important it is to get players to play together," Cotton said. "Two or three players are not going to win games for you. It was a matter of talking about making soccer a bigger priority."
For students in those days, the list of priorities was academics, the fraternity and then soccer. Because players were not recruited to DePauw specifically to play soccer, they were not overly committed to the sport.
In 1971, Cotton had his first winning season of 7-3, led by the No. 3 scorer in DePauw history, Emmanuel Roberts. But the next four seasons were met with struggle as Cotton continued to develop as a coach and foster a greater excitement for soccer. Through the years of '72-'74, DePauw soccer went 16-28.
The game grows, Cotton hits his stride
In Cotton's first 10 years of coaching from 1969-1978, his overall record was 52-56. In 1977, DePauw soccer earned its first trip to the NCAA Div. III tournament with 11-2-1 record. Momentum was growing.
"Soccer became more important to the players," Cotton said. "The type of players who were in the program were so much fun to be around. I'm still just eight or nine years older than them."
Cotton and his teams grew as the game grew in the U.S. In '79, his team was led by two seniors with real passion for the game: Dick Whitney '79 and Carl Mehlhope '79.
"He was a demanding coach who worked our asses off," Mehlhope said. "You wanted to win for Page. He wasn't the type of coach who was yelling at you, but he motivated you very naturally and you wanted to win for him."
As players grew more enthusiastic, Cotton also matured as a coach, developing his philosophy and learning different techniques at national coaching conventions.
"I never felt as though I knew everything," Cotton said. "I was always looking for something more. Soccer is a different game to coach. You train a team during the week and let them perform in the game – you're not a puppeteer."
In time, recruiting became a key factor in a head coaching position. Cotton began to pinpoint specific holes in his lineup and then went out deliberately to fill them.
"I became more cognizant of who I was recruiting and what role they can play on the team," Cotton said. "It all comes together as you move forward as a coach."
Gone were the days of soccer neophytes. By the 80s, players came to campus with skills. It was Cotton's responsibility to develop them. But, at the same time, he wanted to develop his players as young adults.
"I wanted to teach the players lifelong lessons, not just beat Wabash," Cotton said. "I want them to be prepared mentally to meet challenges. If you can challenge yourself everyday in training, the games get better."
With more talent to choose from, he could yank guys out who were not playing hard and put in others. That increased the competition in practice and the soccer program excelled.
Sustained success
In 1980, the men's program made its second trip to the NCAA Div. III tournament. Playing at home, the Tigers lost 4-3, but were determined to make another push the following year. But that next season, the team faltered and went 6-9, Cotton's final losing season.
"That was a tough year because none of us coming out of high school ever expected to lose," said Bill Shinn '83, wing player for Cotton. "We were very talented. It was nothing to do with him, but we just didn't have the chemistry we did in previous years."
After that year, the program began to click. Seniors stepped up to lead. Players understood the importance of practicing hard every day. Team captains led by example. For the next 10 years, DePauw went 119-39-10 all led by players who fully bought into Cotton's system and, as seniors, taught the young players what it took to succeed.
That was the major difference, according to Mark Populorum '85, a defender who was a freshman on the '81 team.
"Our team didn't change too much, but our play changed dramatically," Populorum said. "The captains were very different from freshman to sophomore year. The captains really drive that team chemistry, and I think we just had a better group that year."
According to Populorum and Shinn along with other alumni of the 80's, Cotton fostered a team bond while stressing fundamentals. He demanded players work hard even on simple drills.
"There's a difference between going through the motions and working as hard as you can," Cotton said. "Some players had more skill than others, but that didn't mean they could take the day off. That became more and more of a trademark of our team."
The skill of players also increased as DePauw's name grew not only as a place where athletes could succeed on the field, but also in the classroom. During the 80's, Cotton took his teams to Europe during winter term. These trips enticed prospective players to Greencastle.
"DePauw's academic reputation began to spread in a positive way," Cotton said. "It's the academic reputation which drives players to the school and the value of the education. Soccer is the icing on the cake."
After 20 years of coaching, Cotton's program attracted young talent that he molded into a complete product. His first weeks of practice were a "jigsaw puzzle" where he figured out who could play regularly and where.
"It was always important for me to remember that even though there was a style I liked to play, I could not impose that style on players that weren't capable of playing that way," Cotton said.
From coach to mentor: Director of Athletics
But soccer wasn't his only game. From '75-'77 and '82-'85, he was the head men's tennis coach and basketball coach from '78-'81. He even took over the women's basketball team for half of the '92-'93 season. When Ted Katula retired from the athletic director in 1996, Cotton was ready. He had a broad understanding of many sports and 25 plus years as a coach.
"I felt the next challenge was to serve as a mentor and a role model for the other coaches," Cotton said.
His first hire was coach Kori Stoffregen.
"I was looking for a coach who can be a good fit with the philosophy of the institution," Cotton said. "They had to understand Div. III athletics and understand what it's like to coach in an academically challenging environment. I wasn't looking for head coaching experience, but people who had a lot of potential and passion for their sport."
One major improvement Cotton wanted to implement was to hire more full-time coaches. Recruiting was becoming crucial, and Cotton wanted his coaches scouting and coaching year-round.
"One of the things I'm very proud of is every coach here is considered an expert in their field," Cotton said. "It's not just on the men's or women's sides. It's across the board. There's a fundamental belief that we want to provide the best environment for student athletes as we can."
Cotton has overseen three conference switches, the first one in 1998 when DePauw transitioned from the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. In the ICAC, Cotton's record was an astounding 54-0, and frankly, he craved some real competition. Originally, Cotton thought this new southern league would be a great opportunity to recruit new talent. In fact, Midwestern players flocked to DePauw because they wanted to travel.
"We were able to attract a higher caliber student athlete because of the experience that they could get traveling to San Antonio and Memphis," Cotton said. "It was clear we were getting better in all sports."
Page Cotton Jr. comes to DePauw
Through the 90's, Cotton's son, Page Jr., began playing soccer for a high school club team and eventually, the time came for him to pick a college. Being exposed to DePauw soccer his entire life, from awards banquets to grueling practices, Cotton Jr. could not ignore the most obvious choice.
"I felt like I wanted to go some place away from home," Cotton Jr. said. "I didn't want to go try and play in Div. I. I wanted to go somewhere where I could be on a team and have it be a part of my college experience, not the entire experience."
Coach Cotton never tried to sway his son either way. Cotton Jr. made his decision, then told his mom, then his dad.
"Finally around October as a senior in high school, he told his mom he was coming to DePauw," Cotton said. "I thought, ‘Alright. I have my first recruit.'"
In the first couple games, Cotton was not playing his son until his Assistant Coach Brian Jaworski told him that he should. After that, Cotton Jr. played in 15 games his freshman year and scored one goal.
"He played exactly the way I coached: fundamentally sound, simple, good passer, understood the game," Cotton recalled. "He wasn't the fastest guy, but he was smart."
Despite an abbreviated senior season because of injury, Cotton Jr. scored 13 goals and played in 60 games for his dad's team.
"It never quite set in until probably after the end of my senior year, how lucky I felt to play college soccer for my dad," Cotton Jr. said. "I never called him ‘dad' I called him ‘coach.'"
‘The game is the greatest teacher'
In 2007, Cotton's 39th year, he found it increasingly difficult to both coach and direct athletics. The NCAA had become more bureaucratic. Behind the scenes in his office, Cotton was besieged with paperwork. As the NCAA requested more data and statistics, he struggled to both coach and send information to the collegiate governing body.
Cotton lost his last game against DePauw's old SCAC rival, Centre College. That season, the Tigers finished with an overall record of 12-5-1. Cotton completed his soccer coaching career with an impressive winning record: 390-190-33. While he could have coached one more year and reached 400 wins and 40 seasons, he chose not to.
"It was never about a number," Cotton said. "In terms of numbers of years and wins, the numbers have never been what make me tick. It's more about the feeling that I wanted to make sure I left the men's soccer program feeling really good about what I left."
DePauw's soccer program has been around for 46 years. It has had just two coaches besides Cotton: current head coach Brad Hauter '87 and his mentor Charlie Erdmann.
Cotton decided to stay off the selection committee because he didn't want to risk having to choose between former players. Hauter, who played for Cotton from '83-'86, was coaching at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology when DePauw alumni started to call.
"The reality of taking over this program for Page was overwhelming," Hauter said. "He's put 39 years of his life into this program and the fear of getting the keys to the car and driving it into the wall, it was overwhelming. I didn't want to let him down, but I didn't know how to take over."
After meeting for lunch one day with Cotton, Hauter decided to apply even though it was past the application deadline. Several months later, he was offered the job. True to form, Cotton was confident his former player could succeed. He was right. As Cotton put it: Hauter didn't "skip a beat."
In his four years as head coach, Hauter has achieved a 50-19-10 record and in his first season in the NCAC, his team took home the conference title and proceeded to the NCAA Div. III tournament. His style of coaching mirrors Cotton's.
"You really have to focus on the little things," Hauter said. "It's so important in practice that you pay attention to the fundamentals and then the big things will fall in to place."
The lasting legacy
On that October evening this fall, the semifinal NCAC game proceeded into overtime. Hiram and DePauw were tied 1-1. Cotton stood on the south end of Boswell Field. He observed his former team display passion for the sport, something which Cotton established back with Mehlhope and Whitney in the late 70's.
About three and a half minutes into overtime, senior Alex Johnson lobbed a pass over the Hiram defense deep within their territory. Sophomore Ben Hazen corralled the ball and quickly passed it back to the middle of the field to senior Sam Meyer, who slotted it in for the game winner. Johnson, a fifth-year senior, was Cotton's last recruit on the team.
The excellent ball movement and pass by Hazen to Meyer happened in mere seconds: a perfect play executed at a high speed – exactly how Cotton coached Hauter's teams and all teams at DePauw.
"I can't put a value to what he has meant in my life," Hauter said. "The great thing I think having a DePauw guy take over for him means that his legacy and influence continue through generation after generation. I'm not a replica, but an extension of his philosophy of ideas."
Cotton's job isn't done yet. He will work with President Casey to raise funds for his athletic department to improve the student-athlete experience at DePauw.
"He has given a sense of character, dignity and love for our student athletes," Casey said. "He has my full confidence. He is a deeply loyal man to the institution, so I know Page will give me excellent advice to help me connect with alumni and supporters."
His former players call Cotton a coach, mentor and friend. Cotton says his most profound influence has been soccer itself. And his biggest joy was working with students.
"The game is the greatest teacher," Cotton said. "The game teaches players. I saw myself as the facilitator of that process. As I look back on the years of coaching, what I remember most are the players."