When Brady Hoke walks through the tunnel at Michigan Stadium Saturday, it'll be a stroll of mixed emotions for the fourth-year head coach.
For eight seasons, Hoke called the "Big House" home as an assistant coach under University of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. In his last season with the Wolverines, Hoke was an associate head coach before being hired at Ball State University in December 2002.
Hoke and Carr are still good friends. In fact, they talk at least once a week on the phone. Well, except for this week anyway.
When the game was scheduled in the summer of 2005, Hoke said the two coaches talked about whether or not the two schools should agree to the matchup. But availability played the biggest role: Both schools were having trouble finding opponents because of the added 12th game this season.
"He doesn't like it and I don't like playing someone who I admire so much," Hoke said. "It's about Ball State playing Michigan and that's what it comes down to."
Carr said the team didn't want to play the 12th game after Thanksgiving, so Michigan's options were limited. He also said it will be a different Senior Day for his team, as Michigan usually plays its final home game against a Big Ten Conference foe.
"I think it's one of those deals where I'd rather have played somebody else," Carr said. "It's the same for both of us. We have responsibilities. We have jobs to do. Certainly those come first. Your concentration is on doing the things you can do to help your team be successful."
Carr rubs off on Hoke in many ways. It's visible in the way he answers questions and how he handles himself. That's not necessarily a bad thing, seeing that Hoke won a national championship at Michigan under Carr in 1997.
"He's a guy that I probably admire as much as anybody in football because of the kind of man he is, how he runs a football team and how he treats people," Hoke said.
Although Hoke is 13-30 in his four-plus seasons in Muncie, Carr said he is impressed with his former assistant's attempt to build a Mid-American Conference powerhouse at Ball State.
"I think Brady's a very confident guy," Carr said. "He's an extremely capable guy and I think he understood when he went there it was not a job that was going to be done overnight. He has built a foundation and that's the first thing you have to do."
Hoke isn't the only Ball State coach with a Michigan connection. Ball State offensive coordinator Stan Parrish was an assistant coach there from 1996-2001 before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Erik Campbell, the assistant head coach/wide receivers coach at Michigan, coached the running backs at Ball State from 1991-93.
So how much emotion will Hoke show when he leads his Cardinals onto the field Saturday?
"I think there'll probably be some," Hoke said. "I'd by lying if I said there wouldn't. Other than that, my focus is on having a good plan and getting these guys set to play their best football."
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