Portland State Magazine Winter 2016

winter 2016 pORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 23 continued on next page A LITTLE MORE than a year ago, PSU’s once- vaunted football program was in a tailspin. After a 3-9 season, five-year coach Nigel Burton was let go. The athletic director had left as well. Barnum, one of Burton’s assistants, was given a hurried appointment as interim head coach and told he had a year to prove himself. One of the first things he did was put almost his entire $25,000 pay raise toward the pay of some of his assistant coaches. He kept $1,000 so he could tell his wife he got a raise. For Barnum, becoming head coach was like being handed the keys to a pickup that was leaking oil, had four flat tires and a cracked windshield. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into his first team meeting. But he knew what he wanted. “I wanted to change the culture and expectations of this team,” Barnum says. “I started preaching blue-collar, tough, fundamental football.” Then he gave the players his set of demands: Pick a family member, someone who loves you, and call them once a week. Excel in your classes. And be great on the football field. “Those three things. Nothing else,” he says he told the team. “They gave me a standing ovation.” Senior defensive back Patrick Onwuasor, one of three finalists for National Defensive Player of the Year, credits Barnum for his inclusive coaching style. “He’s a player’s coach,” says Onwuasor. “He gets to know his players, and he’s got us on board.” Barnum’s blunt, cards-on-the-table style not only charmed his players, but also local sportswriters and commentators who have written fawning stories about the upstart coach and team. Add PSU administrators to the fan list, who have watched the wins pile up, ticket sales soar and a program regain long-lost esteem. They particularly like Barnum’s focus on academics. When a player breaks a team rule, Barnum doesn’t yell at him, doesn’t make him run stairs—he requires the player to spend the weekend in the school athletics office, studying. New winning head football coach Bruce Barnum insisted that players pick a family member, someone who loves them, and call them once a week.