'Wow' factor: Mount Union dedicates Dom and Karen Capers Football Coaching Center

ALLIANCE — The Mount Union campus Dom Capers saw 50 years ago when he graduated looks a lot different.

The longtime NFL coach helped make one of the new additions a reality.

Thanks to $2 million from Capers and his wife Karen, Mount Union was able to construct a building for the football program. The university dedicated the Dom and Karen Capers Football Coaching Center on Saturday.

"Mount Union has always been very close to my heart," Capers said. "For the people who helped me along the way, it all started right here. I have so many fond memories of that."

Capers is known for his work as an NFL coach. He became the first head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1996 and the expansion Houston Texans in 2002. He was Green Bay's defensive coordinator in 2011 when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. He currently works as a senior defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos.

A Buffalo, Ohio, native, Capers played safety and linebacker for the Purple Raiders from 1968-71. He landed his first college job at Kent State as a graduate assistant with the help of former Mount Union head coach Ken Wable.

"He was a tough taskmaster," Capers said. "Anybody who played for him knew that.

"The one thing I'll remember about Coach Wable is the spring of my senior year, he got me in a car, took me to Kent State and went out of his way to help me get a graduate assistantship with Don James. I'll never forget that."

Capers and former Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres were roommates when they played for the Purple Raiders. Kehres sensed something special about Capers right away.

"When he came down to say hello, I immediately saw a young guy who is well prepared for college football," Kehres said. "That was before I really met him. That was just an impression by looking at Dom."

Capers is the second largest donor among Mount Union alumni. The press box at newly-renamed Kehres Stadium is also named in his honor.

The 5,600-square foot coaching center opened in 2020. It includes coaches offices and a team meeting and film room that can be split into smaller rooms.

"I don't think I can put into words what you have given us," Purple Raiders linebacker Mason McMillen said. "It has allowed us to meet as an entire team, unit meetings and go over everything related to football that we need to succeed on Saturdays.

"Being able to access all the different technology provided in there, sit together and learn has been very important to my personal growth and very important to the defense, offense and special teams.

"We are just very blessed and very thankful."

Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt says the football coaching center has that "Wow" factor to it.

"What the young men and their families see when they visit here, what they see in terms of the student-athlete experience they're going to have from a learning experience, it's second to none," Dartt said.

Capers finds it very satisfying to see how much the building has meant to the football program.

"When Karen and I look at the facility, it gives us a great feeling to see how Geoff and his staff are using it," Capers said. "When we started to talk about it, our intention was to try to help the recruiting."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mount Union alum Dom Capers helps make new football center a reality