McCarthy inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame

By Editor | March 31, 2026 |

Pictured are those family members who attended Coach McCarthy’s Hall of Fame induction: Niece Kyra, sister-in-law Marty, nephew Jason Yeakel, Coach McCarthy, son Matt and wife Sally.

By Marty Yeakel

A few months ago, longtime football and track coach in Arthur, Don McCarthy, learned that he was to be honored with induction into the IHSA Football Coaches Hall of Fame. That announcement culminated in a reception and luncheon held at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign on Saturday, March 28. At that event 16 active and career coaches were inducted and one, Drew Potthoff, received the Ray Eliot Award named for the longtime University of Illinois football coach.

After an excellent and delicious lunch, the program for the day began with Emcee J Leman, former University of Illinois and NFL football player and a consensus All-American, who welcomed those being honored and their guests. This was followed by remarks from University of Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema who noted the time and effort that it takes to be a coach but also shared that the best time of his week was when he takes his two young daughters to school reminding everyone of the importance of family in a coach’s life.

Those being inducted into this 50th class of Hall of Famers were then individually introduced with their bios being read as a video played showing each coach with a variety of pictures of each one on the sidelines, with their players and with their families. As each coach was introduced they came to the podium to accept their Hall of Fame plaque. The presentation for each honoree was extremely well done and impressive.

Inductee Coach Albert Cruse from Chicago Englewood had been chosen to make a few remarks in acceptance on behalf of the other inductees. He did this by recognizing and honoring the people involved in these coaches’ lives – their fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and especially wives. He asked each of those mentioned in turn to stand and then included any former players or others who had been part of their lives in any way. A great tribute to all involved in the day’s events.

Some background on Coach McCarthy as shared in an article by Mike Monahan in this paper in January. McCarthy is a graduate of Dundee (now Dundee-Crown) in Carpentersville and a 1971 graduate of Illinois State University. He helped coach Junior Football League teams in Bloomington-Normal, Sullivan and Decatur and also helped start the JFL program in Arthur. He was an assistant under Ted Phelps and Harry Kunsch before taking over as head coach in Arthur during the 1988 season. He coached the Knights until after the 2002 season. He was then an assistant coach in Villa Grove and at South Piatt (co-op between Atwood Hammond and Bement). He returned to the Arthur program in 2009 when then head coach Dale Schuring asked him to come back as an assistant where he has been ever since mainly as a running back/linebacker coach. Don retired from teaching physical education at Arthur Grade School in 2012 but continues to coach football and junior high boys track where he has had a lot of success as well having one state championship and three state runner-up titles along with 11 state trophies.

One of the highlights of Coach’s career was the 2025 football season that included the thrilling quarterfinal 42-35 victory at Westville to reach the semifinals.

Quotes from Coach McCarthy at the writing of the Monahan article about his being chosen included: “It is something I had hoped for and admittedly it was in the back of my mind,” said McCarthy. “Coaching that long I thought might play a part in it. You develop a network of people after a while. So many people contributed to this honor. I coached hundreds of players and I became friends with other coaches. My wife (Sally) has been a big help also. There are a lot of people I owe part of this honor to for sure.” He also said: “Coaching is still something I have a lot of passion for. It is a new challenge every season as it is a different team dynamic. It is something I enjoy doing and will continue to do as I love doing it. The relationship with other coaches is something I enjoy. I also enjoy catching up with former players and learning what they are doing after high school.”

On that note, Knights head football coach Ryan Jefferson had this to say about the announcement; “Congratulations to Coach Don McCarthy, for being a 2026 IHSFCA (Illinois High School Football Coaches Association) Hall of Fame Inductee, for his career as a Football coach for an astounding 54 (and counting) years! He has been a huge influence on not only hundreds of young men and improved them as both players and people, but also on myself and many other adults as coaches. Thank you Coach McCarthy, and congratulations!”