President Dave Stec ’86 and Vice President of Advancement Tony Shuman ’91 recently traveled to North Carolina to visit Chuck and Sheila Priefer.
Chuck was a faculty member and Hall of Fame head Baseball and head Football coach at Padua from 1963-1976. He and his wife were both instrumental figures during Padua’s foundational years.
After coaching at Padua, Priefer continued coaching football on the college and pro levels. His college career included many conference and bowl game championships as an assistant coach with Miami University, the University of North Carolina, and Kent State University. At Georgia Tech, Coach Priefer was an assistant coach on the 1991 National Championship Team.
Coach Priefer’s outstanding coaching career also included 16 seasons as a Special Teams Coordinator for three different reams in the NFL. He coached for the Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, and Detroit Lions. While in San Diego, Coach Priefer coached in Super Bowl XXIX (in 1995), won three division championships, and an AFC championship. He finished his coaching career with 10 seasons in Detroit, in which the Lions routinely had one of the best special teams units in the NFL.
Although life has taken their family to several cities, the Priefers’ Padua years are ones they consider to be very special.
To this day, the Priefers enjoy keeping up with the many members of the Padua community and staying connected to Bruins news.
“It was truly wonderful spending time with Coach and Mrs. Priefer,” said Stec. “Their love for Padua is so strong and the Padua community loves them right back!”