[ Romeo Crennel ] - [ Dr. Daniel McIlvoy ] - [ Leon Page ]
Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel’s journey to NFL head coach began as a walk-on at WKU in 1965. 
At WKU, much like his career in the NFL, Crennel worked his way into a prominent role.
Crennel, a native of Lynchburg, Va., who graduated from Fort Knox High School, was a redshirt in his first year at WKU but became four-year starter from 1966-69 seasons as the Hilltoppers went 25-11-3.
After three seasons as one of the Hilltoppers’ top tacklers, he was elected captain as a senior. When the offense struggled early, Crennel gave up a shot at all-conference honors as a defensive lineman to move to offensive tackle. The switch solidified the offensive line and earned Crennel team MVP honors.
Crennel served as a graduate assistant for WKU in 1970 before becoming the team’s defensive line coach from 1971-74. From 1975-80, Crennel was assistant coach at Texas Tech, Mississippi and Georgia Tech.
In 1981, the NFL called and Crennel’s reputation as a defensive coach grew. Crennel joined the New York Giants’ staff as a special assignments/special teams/defensive assistant coach. He became the special teams coach in 1983 and was assigned the defensive line in 1990. In 12 seasons (1981-92), the Giants made the playoffs six times, won three division titles and two Super Bowls (XXI and XXV).
In 1993, Crennel began the first of two coaching stints with the New England Patriots. His first tenure was a four-year assignment as defensive line coach, beginning in 1993 and ending with an AFC Championship and Super Bowl XXXI appearance in January 1997.
Crennel spent three seasons with the New York Jets (1997-99) and a season as the defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns (2000) before returning to the Patriots in 2001 as defensive coordinator. The defense helped propel the Patriots to victories in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX.
Crennel was honored by the Pro Football Writers of America as the NFL’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003.
Following the Patriots’ win in Super Bowl XXXIX – and after 24 seasons as an NFL assistant and five Super Bowl rings -- Crennel became a head coach when he was hired by the Browns in February 2005. In his four seasons as coach, Cleveland went 24-40 including a 10-6 record in 2007.
Crennel and his wife, Rosemary, have three daughters, Lisa, Tiffany and Kristin.
From the beaches of Normandy to the medical facilities in Bowling Green, Dr. Dan “Doc” McIlvoy was a hero and
a lifesaver.
McIlvoy, a 1937 WKU graduate who earned his medical degree at Tulane University, served as surgeon for the 82nd Airborne Division’s 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
McIlvoy distinguished himself as a member of the regiment that was memorialized in a 2004 book “Doc McIlvoy and his Parachuting Medics,” written by Belgian historian Michel de Trez.
He was one of three medical officers to make four parachute jumps in combat missions into Sicily and Salerno, Italy; Groesbeek, the Netherlands; and Normandy on D-Day.
McIlvoy instituted many new methods of caring for and evacuating casualties, supervised the treatment of hundreds of combat casualties and was able to save the limbs and lives of a number of wounded soldiers. His innovations were later adopted as standard operating procedure by the Army Medical Corps.
McIlvoy, who was promoted to colonel in 1945, was with the 505th PIR every day of its existence with the exception of two days while being missing in action in Normandy while he voluntarily stayed with 60 wounded men.
He was awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, a Unit Citation for Gallantry, the Belgian Fourragere and the Netherlands Military Order of William.
Following the war, McIlvoy returned to Bowling Green where he practiced pediatrics at Graves-Gilbert Clinic from 1948 to 1980.
In his 32-year practice, McIlvoy treated as many as 100 children a day, provided free care for patients whose parents could not afford it and provided them with transportation to and from his office through an account he maintained with the local cab company for that purpose.
McIlvoy also started a pediatric and well baby clinic at the Bowling Green-Warren County Health Department, where he volunteered for many years and enlisted the involvement of other physicians.
He was appointed by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a consultant to evaluate medical aspects of the Head Start program when it was inaugurated. He also served on the Bowling Green Model Cities Program and Bowling Green Juvenile Court Advisory Board.
McIlvoy also established a nursing scholarship fund at WKU with support of the Warren County Medical Society and Auxiliary.
McIlvoy died in 1998 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Polly, and their three daughters, Mary Anne, Linda and Carol.
Leon Page
Leon Page believes in giving back and serving the community.
Page, a Glasgow native and a 1943 graduate of Bowling Green Business University (forerunner to WKU’s Gordon Ford College of Business), moved to Franklin in 1947 after serving in the U.S. Navy and working as an accountant for a store fixture manufacturing company. He owned and operated the Sweet Shoppe in Franklin from 1947-52 and worked for the Kentucky Revenue Department in Frankfort from 1952-58.
An original founder of Franklin Bank and Trust Company in 1958, Page served as president and CEO for 22 years and has been Chairman of the Board for 44 years. The bank has grown from one location in Franklin to a company with five locations in Simpson and Warren counties and its assets have grown from $3 million to $51.5 million.
Page and the bank remain involved in the communities they serve by supporting numerous youth, educational and service programs. He has served in leadership roles for the Franklin-Simpson Chamber of Commerce, Franklin-Simpson Industrial Board, Franklin-Simpson Memorial Hospital, Goodnight Memorial Library and Kentucky Bankers Association. He has received the Franklin Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow award, the Chamber of Commerce Civic Pride Award, the Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award and the Simpson County Council Community Service Award and was inducted into the Junior Achievement of South Central Kentucky’s Business Hall of Fame in 2007.
A Navy veteran of World War II, Page is among those honored at WKU’s Guthrie Tower. He was an officer on LST 517, a ship that was engaged in the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
In 1998, Page made the first seven-figure gift in WKU’s history to establish the Leon Page Professorship in Banking and Financial Planning and the Leon Page Endowed Scholarship to support programs in the business college. Page and his wife also pledged $100,000 to create an endowed scholarship for Lady Topper basketball and $100,000 to create an endowed scholarship for Hilltopper basketball.
Page served as a member of the Campaign Cabinet for WKU’s “Investing in the Spirit” campaign and serves on the cabinet for “A New Century of Spirit” campaign. In November 2004, Page was honored by WKU as part of National Philanthropy Day. He is a member of the President’s Board of Advisors, past chairman of the WKU Foundation Board of Directors and has served on the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation Board, College of Business Advisory Council and Libraries Advisory Council.
Page and his wife, Lassie, live in Franklin.