CHARLESTON, W.Va.--In a state that tilts heavily toward Mountaineer football, Larry Mullins, the assistant football coach at John Adams Middle School, is a little bit of an outsider.
Mullins, 68, is one die-hard University of Cincinnati fan - literally.
Just take a look at his grave marker.
No, he's not dead yet, but Mullins, who retired from teaching this summer, figured he had better be prepared when the time comes.
"I'm not trying to be morbid," he insisted, with a chuckle.
The marker - in Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans - includes a small football after his birth date and the words "University of Cincinnati" on it.
"They say the dash in between the years signifies your life," he said. "Well, I don't have a dash. I have a football. And that's about right. My life has been football."
For more than 40 years, Mullins has been a well-known fixture in the Kanawha Valley, teaching and coaching several teams to undefeated seasons and various titles.
His house is a testament to his successful career, with photos of the teams he has coached and the awards they have garnered.
It's also proof he's one big supporter of the Bearcats, who host the West Virginia University Mountaineers in a game to be shown on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. today.
Mullins, who shares the house with his boxer, Sasha, and cat, Little Man, built the ranch-style home himself.
The interior is splashed with red, black and white - Cincinnati's team colors.
Red carpet covers most of the floors, with the exception of the living room and kitchen, which is done in black-and-white tiling.
Red curtains hang from most of the windows, while clocks, lamps and trash cans - all bearing the Bearcats logo - are stationed throughout the house.
In the guest room - where his grandson sometimes stays when he visits - the bunk beds are covered with Cincinnati sheet sets and comforters.
In the living room, a Bearcats border lines the walls.
In the kitchen, a collection of Cincinnati mugs and cups sits along the windowsills.
In his office, just about everything - down to the mouse pad - bleeds red, black and white.
In the basement, even the light bulbs in the lamps are red.
In fact, his bedroom is the only space in the house that isn't covered in Bearcats gear.
On the outside, he proudly flies a Cincinnati banner and has covered his mailbox in what looks like a Bearcats football helmet.
Even his car is decked out. His license plate says "BEARCATS."
Perhaps his most prized possession from his alma mater is last year's Big East Championship football ring.
Cincinnati's current head football coach, Brian Kelly, made sure all former football lettermen received a ring, in addition to last year's championship team members.
CHARLESTON, W.Va.--In a state that tilts heavily toward Mountaineer football, Larry Mullins, the assistant football coach at John Adams Middle School, is a little bit of an outsider.
Mullins, 68, is one die-hard University of Cincinnati fan - literally.
Just take a look at his grave marker.
No, he's not dead yet, but Mullins, who retired from teaching this summer, figured he had better be prepared when the time comes.
"I'm not trying to be morbid," he insisted, with a chuckle.
The marker - in Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans - includes a small football after his birth date and the words "University of Cincinnati" on it.
"They say the dash in between the years signifies your life," he said. "Well, I don't have a dash. I have a football. And that's about right. My life has been football."
For more than 40 years, Mullins has been a well-known fixture in the Kanawha Valley, teaching and coaching several teams to undefeated seasons and various titles.
His house is a testament to his successful career, with photos of the teams he has coached and the awards they have garnered.
It's also proof he's one big supporter of the Bearcats, who host the West Virginia University Mountaineers in a game to be shown on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. today.
Mullins, who shares the house with his boxer, Sasha, and cat, Little Man, built the ranch-style home himself.
The interior is splashed with red, black and white - Cincinnati's team colors.
Red carpet covers most of the floors, with the exception of the living room and kitchen, which is done in black-and-white tiling.
Red curtains hang from most of the windows, while clocks, lamps and trash cans - all bearing the Bearcats logo - are stationed throughout the house.
In the guest room - where his grandson sometimes stays when he visits - the bunk beds are covered with Cincinnati sheet sets and comforters.
In the living room, a Bearcats border lines the walls.
In the kitchen, a collection of Cincinnati mugs and cups sits along the windowsills.
In his office, just about everything - down to the mouse pad - bleeds red, black and white.
In the basement, even the light bulbs in the lamps are red.
In fact, his bedroom is the only space in the house that isn't covered in Bearcats gear.
On the outside, he proudly flies a Cincinnati banner and has covered his mailbox in what looks like a Bearcats football helmet.
Even his car is decked out. His license plate says "BEARCATS."
Perhaps his most prized possession from his alma mater is last year's Big East Championship football ring.
Cincinnati's current head football coach, Brian Kelly, made sure all former football lettermen received a ring, in addition to last year's championship team members.
Mullins said it was an honor and a nice gesture by Kelly.
It's clear - even to fanatical Mountaineer followers - that Mullins loves his team.
"The people there are just so sincere," he said.
Surprisingly, of the five colleges Mullins was considering, Cincinnati was fifth on the list. Wake Forest University and Ohio University were the front-runners, he said.
But that changed once he visited the Cincinnati campus back in the 1950s.
"I said, 'Well, OK, I'll go look at that one first,'" Mullins said. "I was there for maybe two hours and I fell in love with the place. It was absolutely the nicest, most sincere group of people I had ever been associated with in my life.
"So, I signed right on the spot."
Mullins attended Cincinnati on a full scholarship to play football. He played all four years as an offensive guard.
"I remember, I was 190 pounds," he said. "That was the average size for an offensive guard in the early 60s. It's crazy to think of that now."
Mullins graduated from Cincinnati in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and health. He also minored in driver's education, biology, general science, physical science and psychology.
The following year, he remained at the university and earned a master's - a tri-master's, he calls it - in physical education, health and school administration.
His college years made for many memories, Mullins said.
During his time at Cincinnati, the Bearcats went to back-to-back national championships in basketball.
In fact, the years 1959 to 1962 are some of the winningest years in the university's sports history, he said.
Even his roommates, Bill Faul and Gary Heinrich, were memorable, he said.
Both were first-team All Americans, Faul in baseball and Heinrich in swimming. Faul went on to pitch for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.
But they weren't the only notables Mullins met during his time at Cincinnati.
As an assistant football coach at the university for a year, Mullins rubbed elbows with Chuck Studley, who served as the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers when they won the Super Bowl in 1982. He also coached with Dick MacPherson, who served as the Patriots head coach in the early 1990s.
Mullins, along with a group of former teammates, has tickets on the 50-yard line to all of the home games at Nippert Stadium.
Mullins said he never misses a game, unless it's on a Thursday night, when John Adams plays. Tonight's matchup is no different.
Mullins said he's not one to make predictions.
"Whoever scores the most points is going to win," he said. "I'll never make any kind of comment - even if we are ranked No. 4 in the nation right now - about how good we are or how bad another team is. And I preach the same thing to the kids on my football team."
And although Mountaineer fans don't have a great reputation for game-time behavior, Mullins said he has nothing but respect for the opposing team.
"I was taught never to put down another man's team," he said. "There are very few people who ever made any remarks to me, because they know that."
Contact writer Jessica M. Karmasek at jess...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4817.
