DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — When Mike Watson decided to leave Miami University, it wasn't merely for the sake of change.

It was for a chance of a lifetime.

"I was at Miami for 27 years. You don't leave after 27 years if you don't believe you're going to a special place," said Watson, former football star and associate athletic director for the RedHawks who was named earlier this year as director of athletics at Saginaw Valley State University.

Academics and atmosphere are things that Watson said he cherished at Miami. He found both at SVSU.

"It's very similar in many ways to Miami," Watson said. "Academically, it's a strong institution. In the fall semester,

46 percent of our students had

a 3.0 grade or above.

"Granted, it's not the red brick Georgian buildings," he added, turning his attention to atmosphere, "but it's a beautiful campus with trees, ponds, a wetlands preserve."

SVSU is an NCAA Division II school in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with an enrollment of about 10,000 students and an athletic department consisting of 16 sports. The university is located as a sort of a hub among three Michigan cities — Saginaw, Bay City and Midland.

"I've always wanted to be an athletic director, and if I waited another three years, I wouldn't be marketable," said Watson, who is 51. "I'm lucky. I've landed in a pretty special place."

Watson takes with him some special memories of Miami. Not all of them are good.

"One of the most exciting times was in our win against Kent State in 1974," Watson recalled. "(Quarterbacks Steve) Sanna and Sherman (Smith) took us down the field, and we came from behind to win the game."

Dave Draught's field goal with less than five seconds remaining clinched a Mid-American Conference title that year and kept the team undefeated.

Other special memories, he said, including "being an administrator for basketball for the 1999 team of Wally Szczerbiak and the NCAA Sweet 16, and the 2003 season in football. That was pretty special."

In 2003, the RedHawks under head coach Terry Hoeppner won the GMAC Bowl with the help of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and finished the season 13-1 and ranked 10th in the nation.

"The most disappointing memory was our 14-13 loss at Michigan State in 1974," said Watson, who was a starting offensive tackle. "We missed about four field goals. It was the low point of my playing career."

That loss snapped a 24-game unbeaten streak for Miami.

"Two moments that have left a lasting impression on me," he said. "One was in the spring of '85, a Saturday morning in spring football. Brian Frazier goes down and he's paralyzed. That puts things into perspective.

"And in 1998 when Charlie (Coles) went down (he collapsed onto the court when his heart stopped) at Western Michigan, the basketball game didn't matter anymore, especially when it's someone you care so much about."

Watson, who was selected in the third round of the 1977 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins and played four seasons with the New Orleans Saints, said his years in Oxford — which included six seasons as assistant football coach and eights years as assistant athletic director — were good years.

"I feel really blessed that it happened," he said of his new job, "but if it hadn't happened, it would have still been great at Miami."