Lake Leelanau St. Mary principal Megan Glynn represented her alma mater proudly as her Indiana Hoosier football team won a College Football Playoff National Championship Monday over Miami, 27-21, at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I’ve been really impressed with Ferdnando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback, because he expresses his Catholic faith outwardly. For me and our students, it’s important to know you can rise in sports or anything you want to do and still keep your faith and that’s been really inspirational for me,” Glynn said.
Glynn’s son, Jack, a Miami junior was also in attendance. The Hurricanes had a rough first half, going down 10-0, but the Miami defense kept them in the game until the final moments.
“At the beginning of the season, it was Miami versus Notre Dame that was supposed to be the big football story of my college career since my dad went to Notre Dame, ” Jack said. “We were looking forward to that game, and I can always count on my mom for being on my side because she’s not going to pick my dad and Notre Dame. She is going to pick Miami. But now that it’s me versus her, it’s completely different, and we are kind of enemies this week in a way.” No. 1-ranked Indiana won its first championship with roughly 65% of the crowd dawning crimson and cream. Miami, which controversially made it into the playoffs despite a 10-2 record, defeated Texas A&M (10-3), Ohio State (24-14), and Ole Miss (31-27) en route to the national championship game appearance.
Megan and Jack didn’t do much sitting as everyone was standing nearly the whole game.
“The Miami fans were as excited and thrilled, so it was a really great vibe at the game, and it was a close game. Indiana would do something great, a block a punt, score a touchdown or big run. Miami in the second half just came back, and felt like at any time, the lead might change. It seems so unreal as a Hoosier fan that we would be in that position and that we might actually pull it off as much as we wanted to win. When (Miami) threw the interception it just ignited the whole fan base of the Hoosiers,” Megan said.
Megan admits she only got a few hours of sleep after the game ended well after 11 p.m, but was up to monitor the school situation Tuesday with Lake Leelanau St. Mary ultimately closing school for the day due to snowy conditions. Bragging rights now solely belongs to the Hoosiers in the household that loves the Irish and Hurricanes.
“It might come out once in a while,” she admits. “I might have the IU flag hanging out in the front yard,” Megan said.
Even though the Hurricanes didn’t win, Jack wouldn’t change it for the world.
The Hurricanes came alive in the second half when running back Mark Fletcher broke a long run to get Miami back in the game.
“I knew they weren’t out of it. I’m glad we had a chance to end the game on our own terms,” Jack said. “Hard Rock Stadium gets loud when filled up and Indiana fans traveled well … When Indiana made a big play it didn’t even feel real.”
Despite the loss, Jack will be a Miami fan for life, after growing up as a Notre Dame fan.
Jack admits he thought the season was over when the Canes lost their second game of the season in mid-October against Louisville (24-21).
“The second I was going to school in Miami it was all about the Hurricanes and I think we will be back soon,” Jack said. “The whole game was a great experience and getting to see my favorite team in a championship as a junior in college. I’m grateful for it and will look back on this experience … Something you can’t take for granted.”
Jack ended up scoring national championship tickets for free.
“My friends and I were watching (the selection show), and we got our national championship tickets for free. But most students didn’t know that, or didn’t think to open the student website right away. So they got stuck trying to get $500 tickets. And most of them ended up waiting in the queue and not even getting any,” he said.
Jack is enjoying his time on campus in Coral Gables after graduating from Lake Leelanau in 2023 and pursuing a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Sports Administration.
During his sophomore year, he worked as a student manager for the Hurricanes football team, traveling with the team and assisting with home and road games.
As a junior, he is involved with the university’s campus television station, UMTV.
“Originally, I didn’t really know what I wanted to major in … I just really want to make a career out of things that I like doing, and that way it will never feel like a job,” Jack said. “I thought to myself, sports is that thing ... I wanted to move to a big city where they have professional sports teams and opportunities to get into that field, and Miami was that school,” Jack said.
Megan graduated from IU in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education.
She was on campus during the Bill Mallory-era when the Hoosiers had an exciting 1987 season, upsetting then No. 9 Ohio State for the first time since 1951, 31-10.
In the same year, the Hoosiers defeated Michigan in Bloomington for the first time since 1967, 14-10, a streak that wouldn’t end again until 2020.
Megan was at that game. “It was exciting to be a part of the small-student fan section running on the field in celebration after the victory against the Wolverines,” Megan said. “This football season has been especially exciting, following the Hurricanes and Hoosiers. As a family, it has been great to cheer on both teams since the CFP seeding put them in different brackets, destined only to meet up in the final game.”
Megan grew up in Flushing, Michigan, but was born in Indiana until she moved at 4-years-old.
Megan admits she selected the school because of the beauty of Bloomington’s campus in southern Indiana.
“I’ve sat in my car, listening to some games on the radio when Indiana wasn’t on the broadcast. I had to sneak away to a different TV in the house because Brian and Jack were watching better football games. But there’s a spark of interest now for the Hoosiers,” Megan said.
