Few players took a more circuitous and fraught-filled path to the College Football Hall of Fame than current Prairie State College Athletic Director Chris Zorich. He grew up in a tough neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago and was the only child of a single mother, Zorich. He wasn’t even allowed to play football until his sophomore year at Chicago Vocational High School.

“I played as a kid in the neighborhood, tackle in the grass and touch on the sidewalk,” Zorich said. “We never really had any organized sports where I grew up though. My freshman year in high school, I was walking through the halls and the head football coach came up to me and asked who I was. I was about 6’1” and 240 pounds. He wanted me to play football for him for my Mom to sign. My Mom said ‘no’ and her exact quote was ‘I don’t want my little baby getting hurt.’”

Zorich joined the team the following year, albeit through a little subterfuge, and immediately excelled. Though his mother never saw him play in high school out of fear he was going to get hurt. Zorich’s intensity and tenacity caught the attention of numerous colleges, even though he was relatively undersized. Ultimately, when it came time to decide where to continue his education and further his athletic career, Zorich’s choice was an easy one. The University of Notre Dame offered Zorich a scholarship and he all but jumped at the opportunity.

“Very few players in my high school league got any kind of scholarship offers,” Zorich said. “Our league just wasn’t that good compared to Chicago’s Catholic Leagues. The first time I visited South Bend though, there was no question that this is where I was going to go. I had never experienced anything like it before.”

After starting his career for the Irish as a linebacker, Zorich moved to nose tackle in 1988. That season, he earned All-American honors while the Notre Dame team went undefeated and won the National Championship. He was an All-American again in 1989 and named the Defensive Most Valuable player of the 1991 Orange Bowl.

“Notre Dame has so much history and tradition and to think that I am now a part of that, it’s amazing,” Zorich said. “My overall experience there was great. I came from this impoverished background and had an opportunity to not only see what was outside the four blocks around but also outside of this world. When I was working in the administration in Notre Dame. We took a group of players to Japan to play their national football team. How many other schools get to do that?”

Even though Zorich has fond memories of his time at South Bend, his time there was not without obstacles. Directly after competing in the Orange Bowl, Zorich arrived home and knocked on the door to his home, he received no answer. He peered in the window and saw his mother, Zora Zorich, lying on the floor. She passed away from natural causes. It would be understandable to take time away from the sport and grieve for a lost parent. However, Zorich would hear none of it.

“Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, they said I didn’t need to play,” he said of the decision. “I told them, of course I had to. My Mom would kick my butt if I didn’t go out there. I get that drive, that stubbornness, that chip on my shoulder from her. I’m grateful for everything she gave me and I thought playing would be a way to honor her.”

Football is littered with stories of hometown kids getting selected in the draft by their favorite childhood team. In many cases, it doesn’t go the way they initially hoped. Not for Zorich, he and his mother were die-hard Bears fans growing up and in the 1991 NFL Draft, his dreams came true. Legend has it, Bears Head Coach Mike Ditka was practically salivating at the opportunity of drafting Zorich, someone he felt was born to be a Bear. Ditka’s scouts and coaches felt they needed to address the offensive line in the first round, but when Zorich was still there in the second, history was made. Zorich was coming home for good.

“Every kid on my block wanted to be Mike Singletary and Richard Dent and Dan Hampton when I was growing up,” he said. “When people ask me if there was any pressure on me playing for the Bears. I ask them to think about who their favorite team was growing up. Now imagine you have the chance to actually play for that team. My agent had to tell me to shut up a few times when I said I would play for the Bears for free. The chance to be a Bear was my dream come true and I like to think I made the most of it.”

Zorich starred for the Bears from 1991-1996 and wrapped up his playing career in 1997 after one season with the Washington Redskins. He went back to Notre Dame and earned his law degree while serving in the school’s administration. Seeking new challenges, he became aware of an opening in the athletics department at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois. After applying, he was hired as the school’s Athletics Director where he manages over two-dozen athletic programs and hundreds of student athletes. Despite the challenges, Zorich is happily content in his new role.

“Every day presents me with new challenges,” he said. “We’re a community college, so we have a different set of circumstances that most four-year universities don’t have to deal with. It’s extremely gratifying though when I get one of these kids able to transfer to a four-year institution and continue either playing or getting their undergrad degree. I get to apply here the lessons I learned from football. Especially never giving up. It might sound cliché, but it’s how I played, it’s how I live my life, it’s what I teach these kids now.”