cover image High Hopes: Taking the Purple to Pasadena

High Hopes: Taking the Purple to Pasadena

Gary Barnett. Warner Books, $18.95 (210pp) ISBN 978-0-446-52099-7

Northwestern's football team did not have a winning season between 1971 and 1995. This prolonged losing streak and its accompanying sense of inevitable failure were the greatest obstacles Barnett encountered when he became head coach in 1992, for many players on the squad had no hopes of victory. Barnett, who had made his mark in high school and college ball in Colorado, turned the program around through astute recruiting and inspired motivating. And in 1995, his Wildcats became champions of the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl. Assisted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Gregorian, Barnett reviews his years in Evanston with emphasis on the varied techniques he used to inspire his athletes, providing an upbeat tale of Cinderella come to the gridiron. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)