AROUND TOWN: Karpovich reflective after being named to MAC Hall of Fame

Jun. 11—No need to sound the alarm just yet, but when the question was lobbed out there, the same one a lot of 60-somethings pose to each other, the answer still was a little surprising.

How long, University of Scranton golf coach Ed Karpovich was asked, did he plan to remain at the helm of the program he built over the last 41 years.

"It's one year at a time. I didn't even decide about next year yet," Karpovich said.

Everyone take a deep breath. That kind of answer comes with a natural introspection following a milestone moment. For the 69-year-old, Tuesday was one of those, when his induction into the Middle Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame was announced, joining eight others who are Royals royalty, a who's who if the U of S had a Mount Rushmore.

Still, it's hard to imagine that day will arrive sooner rather than later when Karpovich isn't the guy leading the way.

"I don't know if you know, but I'm retiring from my full-time job as county treasurer," Karpovich said. "And I have two beautiful grandchildren and I'm blessed because they live five minutes away from me, which I've got buddies of mine, they've got grandchildren that live all over the country. So I'm just, I'm just weighing some options.

"I really don't know what the future has for me as far as continuing. I've certainly got to think long and hard about it because it's been a huge, huge part of my life. I mean, I eat, sleep and drink Scranton golf."

That's an understatement.

Long before he started his career as head coach, Karpovich was a standout player at Scranton, a two-time NCAA tournament qualifier.

His coach was Steve Klingman, himself a MAC Hall of Famer, and legendary as a soccer coach. Not so much on the golf course.

"Steve didn't know the golf ball from a soccer ball," Karpovich said with a chuckle. "But he was my golf coach. And maybe he's never taught me anything about golf, but I'll tell you what he taught me. He taught me how to be a coach. He was a great coach."

Great friend, too. It was Klingman who nominated Karpovich for the MAC honor.

More than 400 dual-match wins later, seems like a stroke of genius by late U of S athletic director Gary Wodder that he asked Karpovich to save the program in the early 1980s.

"He calls me up about five years after I graduated and said I'm thinking about cutting the golf team," Karpovich recalled. "We cannot get any interest. There's no enthusiasm. It's to the point where if you own a set of golf clubs, you're gonna play golf for the university team."

Needless to say, Karpovich was shocked, and agreed to take it, for a year or two, to reinvigorate the lifeless program.

"I always felt I owed the University of Scranton," Karpovich said. "The school has always been good to me. I said 'Okay, I'll give it a shot.' "

There was nothing in the way of enthusiasm, some players thinking they were owed something for being part of a team. Karpovich soon parted ways with those players, and by the late 1980s, the program flourished.

"I didn't care if we won or lost, I just wanted a team spirit, for kids to be proud of the fact that they were playing for the University of Scranton golf team," he said.

By the late 1980s, the program turned the corner with local talent, and the 1988 MAC title rested with the U of S.

Suddenly, Karpovich had unbridled enthusiasm.

"From then on, we have always had a good team," he said. "We have never not had a good team for decades. And this year was just exceptional. We probably won seven or eight tournaments, were undefeated in matches, and then won the conference championship and got a bid to the national championships. I mean, it was just the ultimate year, it really was. We just had a super year and right now the University of Scranton has become a golf school.

"I've got kids playing for me from all over the East Coast."

He's adored and admired by his players, and invitations to their weddings are not uncommon. Neither are golf team alumni returning to honor him and play in the annual Karpovich Cup at Glenmaura National Golf Club, the

U of S's home course.

His accomplishments? Literally too many to list. Among the best: he's helped young men and women succeed in more ways than golf.

"It keeps me young and the kids keep me young," Karpovich said. "I got a fabulous group of young players on my team and it's just very gratifying. It really is. I'm proud to be the coach there. I really am."

Here's hoping nothing changes that for years to come.

Library tourney at Elmhurst

Reading putts could help others in the community get more out of reading when the North Pocono Public Library gets set to host its third annual tournament Aug. 7 at Elmhurst Country Club.

Longtime North Pocono High School principal Joe Castrogiovanni will be the guest of honor at this year's event.

For information on playing, or to be a sponsor for the captain-and-crew event, contact library development director Christopher Kelly at ckelly@albright.org, or 570-498-0678.

MARTY MYERS is a Times-Tribune sports writer. His Around Town column appears Sundays. Contact him at mmyers@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 ext. 5437; and follow him @mmyersTT on Twitter.