Y C McNease (born c. 1936) is a former American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He was the head football coach at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

for the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

Playing career

Born in

Raleigh, Mississippi Raleigh is a town in, and the county seat of, Smith County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,462 at the 2010 census, making it the largest town in Smith County. Named for English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh has been home t ...

, McNease graduated from Leland High School in Leland in 1956, and joined the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

. After his three years of military service, he attended junior college and transferred to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, where he was on the roster for the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and 1962 seasons as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, and also played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and fullback. Well into his twenties and losing his hair, McNease was nicknamed "Pappy" by his younger FSU teammates.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, McNease was an assistant coach for five seasons at four schools; Florida State,

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, Texas-El Paso, and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was named the head coach at the

in January

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

at age 31, at an annual salary of $16,800. McNease succeeded

Steve Musseau Stephen Joseph Musseau Jr. (July 15, 1923 – December 28, 1997) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho for three seasons, from 1965 to 1967, compiling a record of 13–17. Following coachi ...

and placed a new emphasis on the passing game; the Vandals were 5–5 and 3–1 in the Big Sky in his first season, but they struggled with injuries and slipped to 2–8 with only one win in conference in 1969. After just two seasons at Idaho, McNease was dismissed in May

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

following spring practices. Though reasons were not fully disclosed by the university, it was attributed to his disciplinary tactics and player unrest. Additionally, an altercation reportedly occurred with a player in a Memorial Gym hallway and resulted in a ripped coat. Several months after his dismissal, McNease filed a $1 million

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

lawsuit in

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

against the university. An out-of-court

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

was reached in 1973 for just under $24,800. McNease coached as an assistant for the next three seasons at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

(

) and back at UTEP, until his resignation in late October

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, which followed the resignation of head coach

Bobby Dobbs Robert Lee Dobbs (October 13, 1922 – April 2, 1986) was an American football fullback and coach. Early years After graduating from high school in Frederick, Oklahoma in 1941, Bobby entered University of Tulsa to play football for coach Henry ...

After coaching

McNease left coaching and worked in the insurance and financial services industry, with stops in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, and back on the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primaril ...

in the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

- Pullman area in the early 1980s. As of 2010, he was a resident of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Name

His unique first name is simply "Y C" and is unpunctuated; his last name is pronounced in three syllables (Mac-Nee-See).

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNease, Y C 1936 births Living people American football centers American football ends American football fullbacks American football linebackers Idaho Vandals football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches UTEP Miners football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches United States Marines People from Raleigh, Mississippi Coaches of American football from Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi Military personnel from Mississippi