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With two words you can sum up the best of Miami University football, of the tradition, of the memory of breezy, sun-sparkled Saturday afternoons framed by the colors of autumn leaves, and of a never-ending love and loyalty to a program, a small college town and the people who live there.

John Pont.

I find myself clinging to memories more than I used to. For those of us who have spent quality time at Yager Stadium and Miami Field, those memories are becoming more precious.

It's a sad truth that the last several years have been pretty rough, emotionally, for those involved with Miami sports. Randy Walker. Bo Schembechler. Terry Hoeppner. Joe Nuxhall. And now John Pont.

John was a friend. That's hardly unique. About 14,000 people around Oxford can say the same thing.

If John happened to be within 30 feet of a person who could be listed in one of two categories — those who played and coached Miami football, and those who did not play or coach Miami football — chances were good that John would smile, wave and have something nice to say.

And with John it was so easy to forget that you were chatting with a man who was a national college football coach of the year, a man whose Indiana Hoosiers didn't win the Rose Bowl following the 1967 season only because the Hoosiers couldn't catch O.J. Simpson, a man who coached in Japan, a man who served on a submarine.

Dave Young, who served many years at Miami as one of the nation's best sports information directors, said "football definitely was in (John's) blood" but agreed that he never let his remarkable success get the better of him.

"I first met him when I was sports editor of the student paper at Bowling Green," Young recalled. "He was willing to give me the time of day. I was very impressed with that. John was a class person.

"In the back of my mind, my experience with John and how impressed I was with the type of person he was helped steer me to Miami," he said. "I'm sure it weighed on my mind, that Miami might be the better choice."

Some people's roots are chosen for them when they are born or while they are growing up. John, who was raised in Canton, chose his roots when he returned to Oxford about three decades ago.

Those Oxford roots. Once they start wrapping around your feet, they have a way of holding on tight. Another Miami great, Weeb Ewbank, found that out.

Weeb was born in Richmond, Ind., left Miami to coach the Baltimore Colts and New York Jets to a total of three world championships, and yet always returned to Oxford.

"That's saying a lot for them," Young said of John and Weeb. "They came back to give to the community that they received so much from."

John never really retired, not from coaching, and especially not as a man who knew how to be a wise friend. That was his ultimate gift back to Oxford.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.