ALLIANCE, Ohio -- On a late July day in 1999, Matt Campbell drove along U.S. Route 62, unsure of his next football destination.
He knew he couldn't go back to Pitt for another season. The football program there had turned toxic. So Campbell packed up and left. He wasn't far from his home near Canton when he first saw them by chance: about 60 young men, crossing the four-lane highway that flanks the campus of the University of Mount Union, headed for a workout at the stadium.
"It was a fascinating moment," Campbell said. "Here's where there are no scholarships, there is no money, there is no flash, but these guys love football.