It is almost unprecedented in the annals of the National Football League for two head coaches to have attended the same college. When two coaches hail from a small, liberal arts school with as much of a connection to professional sports as The Boogie Club, then we are dealing with an unparalleled phenomenon.

If you haven’t already heard, our Wesleyan University now finds itself in this unique position, having graduated both New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick ’75 and New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini ’94. That our school, with its football team record of 77-91 over the past twenty years, has produced two of football’s most well-known names serves as a bragging point to friends from larger, more football-oriented universities. This fact, however, is not a mere coincidence.

A native of Nashville, Tenn. who was raised in Annapolis, Maryland, Belichick journeyed through campus during the University’s most liberal days. Sports, friendship, and fun defined Belichick’s Wesleyan years. Though he participated in an impressive three sports – football, lacrosse, and squash – Belichick was not a star athlete by any means. A center and tight end for the football team, Belichick disagreed early and often with coaches during his first two years on the team. Disgruntled not only with his playing time but with the team philosophy in general – the team went 13-19 during his time at school – Belichick gave up football his junior year only to return his senior year and actually get on field. Though his college football career may not have reflected that of a future professional player, Belichick demonstrated on the lacrosse field some of the talents that have made him a surefire first-ballot Hall-of-Fame head coach.

Having played competitive lacrosse while attending Andover Academy in Hanover, Mass., Belichick decided that lacrosse was his sport, at least as a player. Within his first semester at Wesleyan, Belichick befriended then head lacrosse coach Terry Jackson (the namesake of the current Jackson Field). Playing for all four years of college, Belichick was a team leader on and off the field. According to late sports author David Halberstram, when some of the team went to see the arduously long premier of “Gone With The Wind”, Belichick decided that a case of beer would help pass the time and proceeded to sneak one in beneath his jacket.

Boozing aside, Belichick was elected team captain during his senior season, not because of his considerable talent but because everyone on the team respected him and enjoyed his presence. According to Halberstram, an opponent wrote in a scouting report on the 1975 Wesleyan lacrosse team that Belichick was “not especially fast but makes everyone around him better.” This type of comment parallels those made by Belichick, the three-time Super Bowl champion, who is best known for motivating those around him and getting the most out of his players.

Mangini, often referred to as “Mangenius” by Jets fans, or by a few derogatory monikers by non-Jets fans (think Man-female-sex-organ) became, at 35, the youngest NFL head coach ever in 2006, when he took over the reigns for the Jets. In the early 1990s, Mangini enjoyed a prolific football career at Wesleyan. After playing high school ball at nearby Bulkeley High School, Mangini made the team as a walk-on nose guard and immediately made an impression on his coaches with surprising speed and agility for his squat stature. In his junior and senior seasons, Mangini became one of the most decorated football players in Wesleyan history, being named to the ECAC Division III team as a junior and senior and chosen as an all-NESCAC pick in 1993. His four-year total of 36.5 sacks has yet to be broken, as well as a single-season total of 11.5 in 1992. Additionally, in ’92, Mangini received CoSIDA District I Academic All-American laurels as a government major and outstanding football player.

Off the field, Mangini stayed close to football and his friends. Pledging Chi Psi, the now-departed frat of which Belichick was an alum, Mangini was part of a fraternity that is now legendary for having outrageous parties throughout the 1990s, including a beach themed event that saw the entire main floor of the fraternity house covered in sand.

During consecutive spring semesters in his junior and senior years, Mangini traveled to Australia and formally began his coaching career before even leaving college. In Sydney, Mangini coached the Kew Colts and in both seasons reached the regional championships.

Upon graduation, Mangini entered the NFL literally at the bottom of the totem pole, working as a ball boy for the Cleveland Browns. Mangini’s big break came when none other than Belichick discovered him in the Browns’ copy room and facilitated his rise through the ranks of the NFL.

The relationship between Mangini and Belichick has garnered much publicity since Mangini’s debut with the Jets. Belichick is the most successful coach of his generation and Mangini led a less-than-stellar Jets team into the playoffs in 2006. Each time they face each other, as they do twice a year in the AFC East, and will this Sunday at 1:00 p.m., the media unearths the mentor-versus-mentee match-up between the two. After all, it was Belichick who brought Mangini in with him as a defensive assistant for the Jets from 1997-1999, and then to the Patriots as defensive backs coach, and eventually defensive coordinator in 2005. Mangini is a Belichick disciple who learned from the master himself while establishing his own connections throughout the league.

But the bottom line is that the Jets and Patriots are bitter rivals and have been forever. This campus exudes the rivalry with many students hailing from either New England or the New York area. When Mangini decided to take the job with the Jets before the 2006 season, he severed ties with his mentor and an unspoken feud has sizzled between the two ever since. Traditionally curt with the media, Belichick only hinted at this conflict when questioned early last season.

“My favorite team is the Patriots, his favorite team is the Jets…I’m more concerned about us doing well. I don’t sit around the league cheering for everybody else,” he said.

The drama heading into Sunday’s match up will undoubtedly be overexposed by networks and newspapers all weekend, just as it was when the Patriots defeated the Jets in the AFC wildcard game last post-season, and Belichick had to shove his way through a sea of reports to get to Mangini for a quick, silent handshake. Whoever you root for on Sunday, realize that The Tech is represented in the NFL in a way that few other schools ever were and, most likely, ever will be.