Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Athletics Hall of Famer Norm Parker Passes Away
1/13/2014 5:09:00 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group, E-Club
2011 inductee earned four football letters and two varsity wrestling letters
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Norm Parker, a former Eastern Michigan University football and wrestling student-athlete and a 2011 inductee into the EMU Athletic Hall of Fame, passed away Monday, Jan. 13, at the age of 72.
Parker earned four football letters and two varsity wrestling letters at EMU from 1960-63. In addition to being a position player in football he also handled the place-kicking duties for the football team.
He served as Iowa's defensive coordinator from 1999-2011, retiring following the 2011 Insight Bowl. He had five defenses rank in the top 10 in yards allowed, four that ranked in the top 10 against the run and two in the top 10 in points allowed. Also, Parker coached in the collegiate ranks as an assistant football coach at Wake Forest, Minnesota, Illinois, East Carolina, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.
A former Southeastern Conference Defensive Coordinator of the Year, Parker was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2004, 2005 and 2009. He was selected by the American Football Coaches Association as the National Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2011 season at Iowa. He participated in 16 postseason bowl games and was a part of football staffs that have won four Big Ten Conference titles.
A native of Hazel Park, Mich., Parker earned his bachelor's degree in special education in 1965 and his master's in physical education in 1967. He started his coaching career at Ypsilanti St. John's High School in 1965 and joined the EMU football staff in 1968 as the linebackers coach.
The Funeral Mass will be held Friday, Jan. 17, 11 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Chelsea, Mich., with Rev. Dr. William Turner officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Grove East Cemetery in Chelsea, Mich.. The family will receive friends at Cole Funeral Chapel in Chelsea on Thursday 3-5 and 6-8
A memorial service will be held in Iowa City at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to Special Olympics or may be directed to The Norm Parker Athletic Scholarship Fund c/o The University of Iowa Foundation, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244-4550
Parker earned four football letters and two varsity wrestling letters at EMU from 1960-63. In addition to being a position player in football he also handled the place-kicking duties for the football team.
He served as Iowa's defensive coordinator from 1999-2011, retiring following the 2011 Insight Bowl. He had five defenses rank in the top 10 in yards allowed, four that ranked in the top 10 against the run and two in the top 10 in points allowed. Also, Parker coached in the collegiate ranks as an assistant football coach at Wake Forest, Minnesota, Illinois, East Carolina, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.
A former Southeastern Conference Defensive Coordinator of the Year, Parker was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2004, 2005 and 2009. He was selected by the American Football Coaches Association as the National Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2011 season at Iowa. He participated in 16 postseason bowl games and was a part of football staffs that have won four Big Ten Conference titles.
A native of Hazel Park, Mich., Parker earned his bachelor's degree in special education in 1965 and his master's in physical education in 1967. He started his coaching career at Ypsilanti St. John's High School in 1965 and joined the EMU football staff in 1968 as the linebackers coach.
The Funeral Mass will be held Friday, Jan. 17, 11 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Chelsea, Mich., with Rev. Dr. William Turner officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Grove East Cemetery in Chelsea, Mich.. The family will receive friends at Cole Funeral Chapel in Chelsea on Thursday 3-5 and 6-8
A memorial service will be held in Iowa City at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to Special Olympics or may be directed to The Norm Parker Athletic Scholarship Fund c/o The University of Iowa Foundation, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244-4550
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