Celebration of football benefits Upper St. Clair stadium project
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Upper St. Clair won two PIAA state championships in football, the most recent in 2006 when the Panthers rolled to victory against Bethlehem Liberty, 47-13, and completed a perfect 16-0 season.
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Jim Render won two state titles and five WPIAL championships during his tenure coaching Upper St. Clair’s football team. He has the most wins in WPIAL history with a 406-141-6 record.
Sean Lee rambles for yardage against Mt. Lebanon during his senior season at Upper St. Clair. The Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker is the honorary chairman of “A Celebration of 60 Years of Upper St. Clair football. The event set for June 30 at the St. Clair Country Club will help raise funds for the stadium renovation project.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jim Render has a discussion with an official during one of Upper St. Clair’s football games.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jim Render points his players in the right direction.
Sean Lee is shown at USC football camp Aug. 13, 2004. He now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jim Render and his players accept the WPIAL trophy after beating Penn Hills, 18-12, in the 2006 Quad-A final held at Heinz Field. Upper St. Clair has won seven district championships, five of them under Render. Render has coached in six additional WPIAL finals.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jim and Pam Render have been a part of the fabric of high school football since they married on July 1, 1973. After stints at Carrollton (Ohio) and Uniontown, Coach Render took the position at Upper St. Clair in 1979.
Jim Render entered Mary Conwell’s life at a time when her family needed a strong male influence. She was a single mom raising three athletic children. Her sons, Dane and Dakota, played football for Render at Upper St. Clair High School. Her daughter, Diandra, played basketball.
Dane was a member of USC’s 2006 PIAA championship team and earned a scholarship to Indiana University. He transferred to California University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a business degree and is now employed as a district manager for Verizon in Ohio.
Dakota went to Arizona but ended up playing football at West Liberty, where he also earned a business degree. He works in sales and marketing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He started his job June 5 with the Bucs’ Academy.
Diandra is a junior at West Virginia University. She plays club basketball and is majoring in broadcast journalism.
Noting that her sons both had their schooling paid for 100 percent because of football, Conwell attributed it in part it was because “Jim cares about people,” she said about Render.
“He’s not just an amazing football coach, he’s been a friend and a mentor to my boys,” Conwell continued. “He was always caring and concerned. When they needed help or advice, he gave it. Even after college,” she noted, they look to him for input on life’s decisions. “They call Jim. They value his opinion. As a single-parent raising two boys, that’s meant a lot to me.”
So, when Conwell heard plans were afloat to name USC’s football field after Render, she was among the first to volunteer when the Committee to Benefit the Upper St. Clair Stadium Renovation embarked on a major fundraising project.
“When they said this was for Jim, both my hands went up in the air,” Conwell said enthusiastically.
For local gridiron fans, June 30 will be a night of nostalgia at St. Clair Country Club. From 6 to 11 p.m., the Panther faithful will celebrate 60 years of football. The evening, broken down like a football game, will feature the tradition of the program in the second stanza and a toast to Render during the third quarter.
Render, whose tenure as a high school football head coach began in Carrollton, Ohio in 1969, stands at 390 victories, 24 away from breaking the all-time PIAA record of 413 wins held by George Curry, who retired after spending the 2008 season at Wyoming Valley West. Render has coached both of USC’s state championship clubs and five of the Panthers’ seven WPIAL winners.
“The main reason and what we are excited about is we wanted to do this (event) while Jim was still an active coach. We are super excited about that and about celebrating 60 years of football,” Conwell said.
Many former players are equally thrilled. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz expects to attend the event. 93.7 The Fan Pirates studio analyst Kevin Orie and Doug Whaley, most recently a Buffalo Bills executive, serve as board members on the USC Stadium Capital Fund Committee. Both played on the 1989 PIAA championship squad. And, Sean Lee, a standout linebacker for the Panthers, Penn State and currently the Dallas Cowboys, serves as the event’s honorary chairman.
“It was Sean’s idea,” said Conwell. She noted that when the township floated a bond to pay for renovations to the football stadium, which included plans for a new press box, complete with conference rooms and offices, as well as a new entrance and a walk-of-fame, the committee proposed the idea of raising money for naming rights to the field as a way of thanking Render for his years of service to the school and the football program. Expectations are to raise at least $100,000.
Tickets start at $175 but there is a $250 price tag for those wishing to attend a VIP reception with Lee. He is providing several of the auction items, including his signed jersey and a trip to see the Cowboys play. Additional auction items are an autographed Sidney Crosby rookie jersey, signed Penn State memorabilia, a Joe Namath jersey, concert tickets and foursomes to play golf.
The committee is also seeking sponsorships at the corporate levels starting at platinum for $25,000, silver, bronze and Panther for $2,500. Additionally, RSVP is required and paid event tickets by June 23.
“We anticipate this to be a great event,” Conwell said. “And it’s a great cause.
“God blessed us with Jim for 37 years and 13 years prior to that Uniontown had him. That’s 50 years of coaching and influencing young people. He’s instilled in them what it takes to be successful, being part of a team and working hard, and that’s enabled many of them to take it to the next level.
“Unlike those of us who work in corporate America,” continued Conwell, who is a national accounts sales manager for Clearwater Paper Corporation, “he undergoes constant change each season and he has adapted. He’s met the challenges and produced a program that is consistent, successful and one that we all can take a lot of pride in. Plus, he brings out the best in people.”