The Cradle of Coaches Plaza will add its ninth and final statue 9:30 a.m. Saturday, as the new Paul Brown Statue will be unveiled before the Miami University homecoming football game. The ceremony will take place in the Cradle of Coaches' Plaza on the south side of Yager Stadium.
The Cradle of Coaches is a nickname given to Miami University for producing legendary coaches, some of the most successful coaches in sports history. Cradle members include former coaches Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes and Weeb Ewbank.
Miami Head Football Coach Don Treadwell, a former wide receiver for the Red and White, said he appreciates the plaza.
"The statues within our Cradle of Coaches Plaza give me and our other coaches a great visual reminder about Miami's tremendous football history," Treadwell said.
"The gentlemen who are honored in the Plaza have provided the foundation for all of us who are a part of the Cradle."
The Cradle of Coaches is much celebrated at Miami.
"We feel that this ceremony will add on to celebrating this football program's rich history," Mike Pearson, assistant athletic director of Communications and Technology, said.
Paul Brown, like the other coaches in the Cradle, was a successful coach for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, and the current Cincinnati Bengals stadium is named after him as well.
"The Brown name is strong throughout the NFL and college football," Treadwell said. "I don't really have enough time in the day to talk about how significant the Brown family is here."
The process of unveiling the statue will start Friday, when the university will hold a private ceremony for the recipient, Mary Brown, Brown's wife. Then, Saturday morning, both Mary Brown and the architect of the statue, Kristen Visbal, will take off the red cloth that will cover the statue before it is unveiled.
Guest speakers at this event include Miami Athletic Director Brad Bates and President David Hodge. The RedHawks' annual homecoming game will follow the event at 12 p.m.
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Pearson said Miami hopes to add to the Plaza and statues as it looks to expand on ways to honor these men.
"We might even try to expand beyond the plaza and make something that honors the Cradle of Coaches into a tourist destination for all football fans," Pearson said.
Tom Downey contributed reporting for this article.
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