CINCINNATI — As Miami University takes on Notre Dame on the football field Saturday, it’s a special game for one Redhawks and Fighting Irish coaching legend and his family.
Now, decades later, his great-granddaughter is calling Miami home.
Michaela Sweis is adjusting to being a freshman at Miami, but coming there feels like fate for her.
“It was just a great like full circle," Sweis said. "I loved it here for the music and my family was here before so, we came here for different reasons but we both love it here.”
That family, walking these same paths 75 years apart.
“My great-grandparents are Ara Parseghian and Katie Parseghian," Sweis said.
Yes, that Ara Parseghian — enshrined in the Cradle of Coaches outside of Yager Stadium.
“We were able to connect on that in a more spiritual way because it’s like we both are going through a really important phase in our life in this place," Sweis said.
Parseghian lettered in football, baseball and basketball at Miami, where he met his wife Katie, who was a student at Western College for Women, which was acquired by Miami in 1974.
Ara went on to play for the Cleveland Browns under Paul Brown, before starting his coaching career at Miami under Woody Hayes, before taking over the head coaching job for the Redhawks.
He then went on to coach at Northwestern and finished his career at Notre Dame, where he won two National Championships.
“My great-grandparents met here and then they had my grandma and she married my grandpa who played football at Notre Dame when my great grandpa was coaching and then they had my mom who had me," Sweis explained.
For his great-granddaughter, he’s never been coach — just Gramps. But now she’s realizing just how much of an impact he made at the school she now calls home.
“I definitely knew seeing memorabilia at the house like he was a football coach," she said. "But I never really until I came here for college, I never really thought of it as a big deal. And so it’s always just been like O yeah my great-grandpa is Ara Parseghian and everyone’s like what that’s so crazy! And I’m like uh okay he’s my great-grandpa.”
Ara’s wife Katie is 96 and resides in Indiana, and is keeping in touch with her great-granddaughter.
“Sounds like all is going well," Sweis read from their email correspondence. "You are much busier than I was. I wish I was there to show you where I lived when your grandma was born. Heart, Gram.”
While Ara passed away in 2017, Sweis thinks he’d be pleased with her college choice.
“I think he’d be super happy and super proud," she said. "And very glad I didn’t go to Michigan State!”