BLUEFIELD, Va. — Bluefield College president David Olive announced in a press conference July 23 that Mike Gravier has been named to resurrect Bluefield’s football program after a 69-year absence. Gravier, a Michigan native, coached on the high school level for five years before moving to the college ranks in 1986.
In 2001, he combined his passion for football with another passion — ministry. Until 2004 he was director of sports ministry for Christian Outreach International. From 2004 to the present, Gravier has been director of Operation Share for Heaven Sent Ministries in Princeton, W.V., where he lives with his wife, Linda, and their two daughters and son.
Bluefield College president David Olive (left) and athletic director Pete Dryer (right) ceremoniously hand off a football to Mike Gravier, the school’s new head coach for football. (Photo courtesy of Bluefield College)
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Encouraged by his wife, Gravier returned last year to the gridiron part-time as tight ends and full backs coach at Concord University in Athens, W.V.
Of particular value to Bluefield is Gravier’s experience in helping establish a new football program in 1992 at Malone University, a Christian liberal arts school in Canton, Ohio. After serving as an assistant coach for two years, he became Malone’s head coach and amassed a record of 30 wins, 12 losses and one tie during his four-year tenure. His teams won three conference championships and received two NAIA national tournament invitations. In recognition of his success, he was named coach of the year.
In announcing Gravier’s selection, Olive emphasized that his coaching philosophy, his experience and the convictions of his faith were all important factors to the search committee.
“Hiring the right coach, someone who identifies with the college’s mission and has a passion for transforming young men’s lives through the game of football, is critical to the success of this new program,” Olive said. “I’m convinced we have found that person in Mike Gravier.”
Gravier’s eagerness to begin building the program became evident during the press conference.
“We have 770 days until the first game,” he said. “I counted them yesterday!” Afterward, when asked how long he thought it might take to establish a winning tradition, he replied, to the delight of Bluefield supporters, “770 days!”
Gravier will begin recruiting players now to begin club play in the fall of 2011. The team will begin intercollegiate play, most likely in the NAIA's Mid-South Conference, in the fall of 2012.
Bluefield’s football program ended with a win in November 1941. Less than three weeks later, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and consequently so many of the male students entered military service that it was impossible to field a team.
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Bluefield College president David Olive (left) and athletic director Pete Dryer (right) ceremoniously hand off a football to Mike Gravier, the school’s new head coach for football. (Photo courtesy of Bluefield College)