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During his 32-year career at then-Glassboro State, Richard Wackar was known to everyone simply as “Coach.” But on Saturday, he also will be known as the man for whom the Rowan football stadium is named.

In a halftime ceremony during Rowan’s Homecoming football game against Buffalo State, the new athletic facility will officially be christened Coach Richard Wackar Stadium at John Page Field.

“I’m humbled by the honor, but it is a tribute to the thousands of wonderful students, athletes and coaches I’ve met in my journey at the college and university,” said Wackar, who coached from 1956 to ’88, in a university-issued news release.

Wackar, who also coached golf, basketball and cross country, is the only coach in the New Jersey Athletic Conference to have ever won a conference championship in four sports.

As head football coach (1963-80), he guided the Profs to five conference titles and one Eastern Conference Championship.

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Like most young football stars, Clinton Tabb always wanted to play in the NFL.

But he had another dream, too. He wanted to coach at his alma mater.

Tabb calls himself “a Pennsauken guy, through and through.” The 30-year-old former star for the Indians as well as Rowan University isn’t on an NFL roster, but he has landed in a place that’s nearer and dearer to his heart.

It’s called home.

“I always wanted to do two things,” Tabb said. “Number one, I wanted to play in the NFL. Number two, I wanted to come back and coach at Pennsauken.”

In a year of significant turnover, Tabb is one of 15 new football coaches in South Jersey. He has replaced Reggie Lawrence, who left Pennsauken after last season to become the coach at Willingboro.

Tabb has a great sense of the tradition of Pennsauken football. He was part of the program for the final two years of Vince McAneney’s legendary 25-year run as the Indians’ coach.

Asked his coaching philosophy, Tabb said, “I always go back to what Coach Mac used to say: ‘Tempo and hustle.’ We have the talent. We just need to get everybody on the same page. You do that by setting the tempo and making sure there’s hustle on every play.”

McAneney, who retired after the 1994 season, said he was “thrilled” to see Tabb become Pennsauken’s coach.

“I called Clinton the day after he got the job,” McAneney said. “I said, ‘Clinton, you’re the first Pennsauken graduate to become the Pennsauken coach.’ I was so glad about that. He knows about the tradition. He wants to follow in those footsteps.”

Tabb has a veteran staff of assistants that includes John Martino, Mark Lilley, Cetshwayo Byrd, Eric Williams, Jason Pare, Steve Wallace, and Chad Pierce.

Plus, he’s got a few hundred other assistants in the community.

“This is Pennsauken,” Tabb said. “You go to the supermarket and it’s, ‘How you doing, coach?’ Plus, all my friends are guys I grew up with and played Pennsauken football with.

“They’re all like: ‘This is Pennsauken, right? We’re going to win, right?’ ”

Pennsauken has three top running backs in seniors Talir Satterfield-Rowe, Harry Williams, and Jamir King, as well as an emerging star in junior wide receiver Marcus Jones.

Tabb said the Indians might toy a bit with the wing-T to get all three backs on the field, although the power ‘I’ still will be their base offensive formation.

Tabb was the Indians’ defensive coordinator the last four years. The team still will run a base 4-3 defensive formation.

“That’s what we played when I was at Rowan,” said Tabb, who was a two-time Division III all-American for the Profs.

Pennsauken athletic director Billy Wright calls Tabb “a role model” for many of his players.

Tabb, who also is a physical education teacher at Pennsauken, said he is a demanding individual who will push his players.

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