ROUSES_SeptOct2019_Magazine

Rebowe’s process of turning the Colonels’ program around centered on reshaping the culture whose roots dug deep as decades of losing seasons piled up. He told the players he cared about them, then he devoted himself to proving it. The glass was always half full, even as Nicholls lost its first five games with Rebowe as coach, extending the losing streak to 23 games. Despite those early losses, Rebowe saw the perspective he was trying to cultivate take hold immediately, and Nicholls has been reaping the benefits ever since. It is positivity that is backed by trust. “It wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies,” Rebowe said. “But it was a positive atmosphere, a trusting atmosphere, and those guys felt it right away.” ROOM TO GROW The first 20 years of Rebowe’s college coaching experience were spent as an assistant coach. Twice he applied for the Nicholls State job — once in 1998 and again in 2010 — and twice he was turned down. Each time he met with rejection, he chose to believe that it had happened for a reason. Throughout those years spent waiting for his opportunity, Rebowe paid close attention to the coaches he worked under. He identified things they did that he would incorporate into his own program, and also things he would not do. While he waited, he learned. What came of that is a coach who knows exactly what he wants his program to be. And perhaps because he is older and more mature, he is also in a position where he knows how to make that vision a reality. “He dreams big,” Roan said. “He thinks that special things can be accomplished here, that we’re just scratching the surface of what it is we’re trying to do.” In the last two seasons under Rebowe, Nicholls has won 17 of its 25 games. It clinched its first playoff victory in more than 30 years. There is legitimate excitement about the football program in the community, and the community is starting to show it by supporting the program financially. Construction is expected to begin soon on a new end zone facility at Guidry Stadium on campus. From the beginning, Rebowe believed in the Nicholls State football program. And here’s the thing about a glass-half-full type like Rebowe: There is always room for more. If Nicholls is starting to get respect around the state, Rebowe wants it nationally, annually. He does not want this to be a flash in the pan, but sustained success that will make people want to come to Thibodaux and play football. He wants his program to keep looking for a new top rung of the ladder once it has reached a previously unreachable height. “Why not here?” Rebowe said. “Why not Thibodaux, Louisiana; why can’t it be done?” Satisfaction? No, remember: That is a foreign concept here.

Tim Rebowe, Nicholls State’s football coach since 2015

On top of the filing cabinet near the doorway is a miniature boxing bag, meant to symbolize the fighting spirit Rebowe wants to see in his football teams. “All we’re going to do is keep punching. At the end of the fight, at the end of the game, we’re going to see who’s standing,” Rebowe said, adding that Nicholls State brings boxing gloves to games. One wall is dominated by posters of the slogans Rebowe and the football program generate each year to establish a sort of guiding principle, distilling the larger idea he is always trying to evoke. The first year was “All In,” followed by “Earn It in Year 2” and “Count Me in in Year 3.” Rebowe is particularly proud of the slogan they coined last year, “One Way.” Hanging next to the sword on the wall is a One Way sign, and Rebowe wore a shirt with the campaign logo on it as he conducted an interview for this story. “If we are all moving in the same direction, if we’re all together on the same page, there’s no way we can be stopped,” Rebowe explained. “Inside of that arrow are a bunch of little arrows — different sizes, different shapes, different speeds, different colors. That embodies our team. If we were all moving in the same direction, we can’t be stopped. “But if you miss class, or you’re late for weights or you get in trouble and those little arrows start going the other way, you’re dividing it. Then we’re going to have trouble.” The 2019 slogan? “Right Now” — urging players to be present in the moment.

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