Head coaches exchanging a fist-bump at home plate as they swap opening lineups is a common occurrence, but there was something quite unique about the pregame meeting in Lafayette, Louisiana on Tuesday night.
When Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Gerry Glasco handed over the lineup for his squad, on the other end of the exchange was Tara Archibald, the head coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers. If the uniqueness of that moment still isn’t clear, then perhaps the full name of EIU’s coach might help; it’s Tara Glasco Archibald.
And this was the Glasco Bowl.
Indeed, Tuesday night’s matchup pitted blood against blood, father against daughter. Tara is the eldest of Gerry and Vickie Glasco’s three girls and, after following in her dad’s footsteps into college coaching, is now in her second season as EIU’s leader. Tuesday night’s matchup was the first time that dad and daughter had ever faced off in a collegiate game, though it was not the first time they had coached against one another at any level.
During the 2004-05 high school softball season – after Tara had graduated from college, but before Gerry entered the collegiate coaching ranks himself – there was a big high school game in the state of Illinois. Pinckneyville High School, where Tara served as an assistant coach, would face off against Johnston City High School; the latter program employed Gerry as an assistant coach and Erin Glasco, the middle child of the family, was a senior on the JCHS roster.
Pinckneyville would go on to win that ‘05 game, and Gerry and Tara would each continue rising in the coaching world throughout the next decade.
That brings us to Tuesday night, to a game that was planned and executed from start to finish in under a week’s time. Eastern Illinois suffered cancellation of several of their early-season games and were scheduled to make a multi-week trek to the Southern states with a goal to play as many games as possible. During a casual conversation, Tara mentioned that her team would be playing Southern University in Baton Rouge on a Monday afternoon. Her dad had an immediate response.
“As soon as he found out we were going to Baton Rouge on Monday, he said ‘you’ve got to come play us on Tuesday,'” Tara recalled with a chuckle. Gerry concurred, noting practically, “[EIU] could come here, be able to practice outside, we’d both get in a game, and it would be good for our program and [their]program.”
Some scheduling issues had to be worked out – the Panthers will now return to Baton Rouge for a mini-tournament on Wednesday, then will take Thursday off of softball activities – but eventually the game was written on the schedule in permanent ink.
For Gerry, the game had its benefits for his team, but away from the softball side of things, there’s no denying the pride that a dad has in his daughter. “I’m really proud of Tara,” Gerry said on Monday, his voice slightly faltering. “Proud of her accomplishments, and she can really coach. I recognized a long time ago that she is really, really gifted as a coach. I’m proud of her as a dad and as a former coach of hers… absolutely bursting with pride to be able to meet her out at home plate.”
On the other side of the diamond, Tara’s sentiments were similar, both for her father and the program he leads. “My dad is my softball ‘person,'” she said. “He’s the person that I’ve learned from to work hard and to compete… I think a difference for this game might be familiarity, because I really do love watching [the Cajuns]play. I love watching them, and I love them just like I love my team. Just maybe not so much for this one game!”
Tuesday night’s contest ended in a 9-0 Cajuns victory, so Gerry Glasco has bragging rights at family holidays now. But for the only father-daughter pair currently serving as Division 1 head coaches, Tuesday night meant far more than wins and losses.
