Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney ( born August 22 , 1940 ) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men ' s ministry . He was the head football coach at the University of Colorado from 1982 to 1994 , where he compiled a record of 93 – 55 – 5 and won three consecutive Big Eight Conference titles between 1989 and 1991 . McCartney ' s 1990 team was crowned as national champions by the Associated Press , sharing the title with a Georgia Tech team that topped the final Coaches ' Poll rankings . In September 2008 , McCartney came out of five years ' retirement from Promise Keepers to become the CEO and chairman of the board of the organization after founding the Road to Jerusalem ministry . Biography . Education and early career . After receiving his BA in education from the University of Missouri in 1962 , McCartney was named as an assistant football coach under his older brother , Tom , in the summer of 1965 at Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit , Michigan . The younger McCartney was also the head basketball coach at Redeemer from 1965 to 1969 , taking the school to the Detroit City Championship during the 1968 – 1969 season . McCartney then served as the head football and basketball coach at Divine Child High School in Dearborn , Michigan before becoming the only high school coach ever hired by University of Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler . Head coach at Colorado . After eight years as an assistant at Michigan , McCartney was hired to replace Chuck Fairbanks as head coach at the University of Colorado on June 9 , 1982 . In his first season in 1982 , the Colorado Buffaloes compiled a record of 2 – 8 – 1 . After improving to 4 – 7 in 1983 , Colorado sustained a 1 – 10 campaign in 1984 , but McCartney was given a contract extension nonetheless . In his fourth season in 1985 , McCartney guided the Buffaloes to a 7 – 5 record and a berth in the Freedom Bowl , where they lost to the Washington Huskies . In the following season , 1986 , McCartney ' s team earned its first victory over Big Eight Conference powerhouse Nebraska since 1967 . After modestly successful seasons in 1987 and 1988 , McCartney steered his team toward national prominence . After the 1988 season , the Buffaloes ' star quarterback Sal Aunese was diagnosed with stomach cancer . He died in the middle of the 1989 season . Nonetheless , Colorado won all 11 of its regular season games including victories over ranked Washington , Illinois , Nebraska , and Oklahoma teams . The Buffaloes faced Notre Dame on January 1 , 1990 in the Orange Bowl , where they lost 21 – 6 . Colorado opened the 1990 season ranked fourth with a game against Tennessee in the inaugural Disney Pigskin Classic played in Anaheim , California . The contest ended in a 31 – 31 tie . A comeback win against Stanford and a one - point loss to Illinois leveled the Buffaloes ' record at 1 – 1 – 1 . Colorado then won the remainder of their regular season games . Their winning streak , highlighted by wins over ranked Washington , Oklahoma , and Nebraska opponents , was not without controversy . In a game against Missouri on October 6 , referees mistakenly allowed an extra down on which Colorado scored the winning touchdown as time expired . The game , known as the Fifth Down Game , became one of the most notorious officiating gaffes in college football history . Contentions notwithstanding , Colorado rose to # 1 in the rankings and once again faced Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl . The Buffaloes won a closely played game 10 – 9 , aided by a controversial clipping call that negated a late punt return touchdown by Rocket Ismail of Notre Dame , and earned a share of the national title . Colorado was voted # 1 by in AP Poll while Georgia Tech was voted the top ranking in the Coaches ' Poll . The following year , the Buffaloes tied Nebraska for the Big Eight title and lost to Alabama in the Blockbuster Bowl . In 1992 , Colorado finished a 9 – 2 – 1 campaign with a loss to Syracuse in the Fiesta Bowl . In 1994 , McCartney ' s final year , he coached the Buffaloes to a victory at Michigan , where McCartney had spent eight years as an assistant . Colorado won the game 27 – 26 on a 64 - yard Hail Mary pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook as time expired , which has since become known as The Miracle at Michigan . The Buffaloes posted an 11 – 1 record in 1994 , capped by a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl . At the end of the 1994 season , McCartney retired from coaching . McCartney holds records for the most games coached ( 153 ) , most wins ( 93 ) , and most conference wins ( 58 ) in the history of the Colorado Buffaloes football program . Outside of coaching . In 1990 , while still head football coach at Colorado , McCartney founded a Christian men ' s group called Promise Keepers . He later resigned as the head of Promise Keepers and founded an organization called The Road to Jerusalem . In September 2008 , McCartney rejoined Promise Keepers as CEO and chairman of the board . He serves on the board of directors of the Equip Foundation , Gospel to the Unreached Millions , and Concerts of Prayer International . McCartney is the author of five books : " From Ashes to Glory " ( 1995 ) , " Sold Out " ( 1997 ) , " Sold Out Two - Gether " ( 1999 ) , co - authored with his wife , Lyndi McCartney , " Blind Spots : What You Don ' t See May Be Keeping Your Church From Greatness " ( 2003 ) , and " Two Minute Warning : Why It ' s Time to Honor Jewish People Before the Clock Runs Out " ( 2009 ) with Aaron Fruh . Honors . McCartney won a number of national coaching awards in 1989 including the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award , the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award and the Paul " Bear " Bryant Award . Three times , in 1985 , 1989 , and 1990 , he was named the Big Eight Coach of the Year . McCartney was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 . McCartney has been honored with a number of additional personal awards including : the Impact America Award from Point Loma College in 1995 , the Spectrum Award from " Sports Spectrum " magazine in 1995 , ABC News Person of the Week on February 16 , 1996 , Layperson of the Year from the National Association of Evangelicals in 1996 , the Fire - Setters Award from Revival Fires Ministries in 1997 , the Evangelist Philip Award from the National Association of United Methodist Evangelists in 1999 , and the Humanitarian of the Year from the Syl Morgan Smith Colorado Gospel Music Academy in 1999 . Family . McCartney lives with his wife Lyndi in the Denver area . They have four children and ten grandchildren , one of which was fathered by McCartney ' s former player Sal Aunese , who died of stomach cancer at the age of 21 . The McCartneys attend Cornerstone Church in Boulder , Colorado . Coaching tree . McCartney played under : McCartney coached under Assistants to McCartney who became college head coaches :