In 1999, C.C. Grant was on the football coaching staff at Cortland State, on the other side of one of the premier Division III rivalries in the nation — the annual matchup between the schools drew an NCAA Division III record 45,161 fans last season — from Ithaca and assistant coach Bill George.

That year, George was hired to be the head football coach at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a spot he would hold for the next 21 seasons, as he became the program's all-time wins leader.

He thought enough of Grant, his one-time adversary, to call him with an offer to serve on his coaching staff and Grant accepted, following George to New London and spending all of George's 21 seasons by his side.

Now it is Grant's turn, as athletic director Dan Rose introduced Grant as Coast Guard's 16th head football coach on Monday.

Grant, 54, has also been the academy's head baseball coach for 14 seasons, a position he will relinquish.

"I never really thought of it until Bill thought about retiring," said Grant, the Bears' co-defensive coordinator for the last 15 seasons. "At least in my mind, I never thought about it that much. I thought about it long and hard. I did a lot of thinking, a lot of praying about it.

"I'm happy. I think for me it's going to simplify my life a little bit. To give up baseball is kind of bittersweet but this time of year it's a grind; I've been on the road for two sports recruiting. I'm on the road somewhere in Georgia, different places, trying to find baseball players.

"I want to be the best football coach I can be, the best head football coach I can be."

Grant was one of three finalists for the vacancy, according to sources. The Bears will open their 2020 season on Thursday, Sept. 3, against the University of New England at Cadet Memorial Field, the first of four straight home games to begin the season.

"Through a national search process, coach Grant distinguished himself as a strong leader who embodies the Coast Guard core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty," Rose said in a press release. "C.C.'s professionalism, knowledge of the game and dedication to developing leaders of character suit him perfectly for this exciting new era of CGA football."

"I look forward to the new era of Coast Guard football under the leadership of coach Grant, who has been a valuable member of our faculty and football and baseball coaching staffs for over 20 years," Rear Admiral Bill Kelly, Coast Guard Academy superintendent, said in the release. "I would also like to thank coach George once again for his decades of leadership as a member of our faculty and the head football coach at the academy."

Grant, one of five assistant coaches on the Coast Guard staff for 20-or-more years, said the remainder of the staff will stay the same.

Grant served as co-defensive coordinator with Dana Fleischmann, while Ray LaForte is the offensive coordinator. Jay Driscoll recently completed his 27th season coaching the Bears' defensive line and Pat Knowles, who coached for the 24th season in 2019, is the running backs coach.

Grant called Coast Guard "kind of a hidden gem," echoing George's sentiment upon his retirement: if they had to do it all over again, they would still accept their jobs on the picturesque campus by the Thames River.

"People come here and they don't leave," Grant said. "They stay until they retire. ... We've been working together for 20-some-odd years. It's been a grind, but that's what football is. You enjoy it.

"Normally, once the season gets going, it's me, Dana and Jay, the defensive staff. We haven't really changed as far as our work habits. We stay until it gets done. If you didn't like the people you work with, it would make life awful tough."

Grant, whose given name is Ulysses — and yes, he's heard all the Ulysses Grant jokes — graduated from Williamson (N.Y.) High School in the Rochester area in 1984. He was later an All-ECAC fullback at Cortland, leading the Red Dragons in rushing in 1989 and to an NCAA playoff berth in 1990. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cortland in physical education and spent six seasons as an assistant football coach at his alma mater.

At Coast Guard, he was co-defensive coordinator for the 2006 and 2007 football teams which won New England Football Conference Bogan Division championships and the Bears earned a spot in the 2006 ECAC North Atlantic Bowl.

Last season, Coast Guard was 5-5, with the first six games of the season being decided by 10 points or fewer. The Bears finished with 28 sacks, 15 more than their opponents.

As head baseball coach, Grant took over in 2007 following seven seasons as assistant coach under Pete Barry. He is second in program history with 184 wins, guiding Coast Guard to ECAC tournament berths in 2011 and 2013 and leading the 2013 team to a program-record 24 wins.

Grant and his wife Susan, Coast Guard's head coach in women's soccer, reside in Waterford with daughters Hannah (11) and Grace (7).

Grant remembers his original interview at the academy in 1999 came while he was working at a basketball camp on Long Island. He did the interview from the coaches' office.

"It happened so fast," Grant said. "When I got the job it was August. I was driving back to Cortland on Saturday or Sunday, by Thursday I was down here looking for an apartment. I drove back to Cortland, rented a U-Haul. Bill helped me move into my apartment on Sunday and I started on Monday."

As a head coach?

"I'm knowledgeable. I'm approachable," Grant said. "Although I teach personal defense so that maybe I'm not (approachable). I'm a guy that maybe softened up because you have two daughters, something that happens once you become a parent.

"I'll be tough, but I'll be fair."

v.fulkerson@theday.com