GRC Cardinals!
 

Paul Columbia is in his 9^th year as head football coach and 27^th  year of coaching overall, all 26 seasons have been here at GRC.  Coach Columbia is a 1975 graduate of GRC, starting his junior and senior seasons at defensive end and wide receiver, respectively.  He played GRC football under the tutelage of Lloyd Hodge, Bill Urbanik and long time GRC coaches Don Danko and Marty Joyce.  Columbia coached with Danko and Joyce for 16 years, after being in NFL training camps with Green Bay, Detroit, the New York Jets, and the Baltimore Colts.  He started for the GRC varsity baseball team at 3^rd base, his sophomore ( team leader with a .458 batting average ) and junior seasons, and 1^st base, as a senior, for Coach Eugene Vanhoose. 

Columbia accepted a football scholarship and followed former GRC assistant coach Tom Duffy to Villanova University to play for Head Coach Dick Bedesem (Duffy’s head football coach at Bishop Egan High School in Philadelphia, PA).  He graduated in May 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and returned for his 5^th season, due to being redshirted as a freshman.  Columbia started at tight end as a junior and senior.  He was the team’s offensive captain and was voted 2nd team Associated Press All-East and 2^nd team New York Times All-East in his senior year of eligibility (1979). 

Columbia is in his 11^th year as an assistant principal at GRC, after teaching mathematics for 11½ years.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Kentucky in 1985, a Master of Arts Degree in Secondary Education from Eastern Kentucky University in 1990, and a Rank I Administration certification for  Secondary,  Middle, and Elementary schools from Eastern Kentucky University in 1993. 

Paul is married to the former Patti Mathis and they have 3 children ( Stephen , Brittany and Bethany ) and 1 grandson ( Jaden Thomas Columbia ).

This Website was created by Johnny Brownflab and was last updated on 11/09/09