By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

Second-year Fighting Illini defensive line coach Austin Clark loves his sister dearly, but don't expect him to be decked out in Old Gold and Black gear when her softball team visits Eichelberger Field this weekend.

His older sister, Adrienne (better known as "Addie" – rhymes with EIGHTY), is in her first season as assistant coach at Purdue and is primarily responsible for mentoring the Boilermaker defense.

"I'll definitely be wearing orange and blue," said Austin. "If the Illini can squeak out a win, but Purdue doesn't make any errors, then I'll be happy."

Says Addie, "Even if I got him a Purdue softball shirt, he wouldn't wear it. I can hear him now.  'I'm not wearing that,' he'd say. 'I work at Illinois.' I feel the same way. I'm black and gold now. It so cool that he said what he said."

As the "little" brother, some seven-and-a-half years younger, Austin has seen more than his share of softball games over the years.

"When he was a little kid, my brother was dragged to every softball tournament," Addie chuckled. "He grew up around softball because of me."

(Left) Austin and Adrienne as kids. (Right) Adrienne is in her first season as an assistant coach at Purdue. 

The Clark kids have experienced amazingly similar career paths thus far.

After leading Florida's Riverview High School to the 2000 state championship, Addie played collegiately at Hofstra in New York.  She was an All-Colonial Athletic Association pitcher, helping lead the Pride to four straight CAA crowns and three NCAA Regional appearances.

Austin's high school football team, the Plant Panthers, won the 2008 state title, then he walked on to play defensive tackle for the California Golden Bears where he eventually earned a starting job.

"Addie had her high school years, won a state championship, then played college softball all while I was coming through," Austin said. "Then when she transitioned into coaching, I was in high school, won a state championship, played in college and got into coaching just like she did. It's been a cool bond for us, following the same career path."

Both Austin and Addie credit their athletically inclined parents—Alan, a former football player, and Charlotte, a one-time tennis star—for setting the foundation of their success.

"Unfortunately, they just couldn't afford to go to college and compete as athletes," Addie said.

Instead, the Clarks initially went into the business that Alan's family had established, carnival shows.

"The town where Austin and I grew up (Gibsonton, Fla.) is zoned for carnival business," Addie explained. "Many of the old-school sideshow-type people lived in that town because that's where they felt comfortable. My parents still live in the house that my brother and I grew up in.

"Mom and Dad had what you might say were difficult up-bringings," she continued. "My dad's family was unconventional and my mom was one of six kids. So, for them, sports was what kept them out of trouble and taught them lessons that sparked them to be better.

"So, when Austin and I grew up, my parents let us do anything," she said.  "Sports were always the thing that we all enjoyed doing, whether it was watching or participating. That's where my parents found a lot of value. So even though they didn't have the college experience or the things that my brother and I got to have, they wanted to be able to put us in a position to do everything that they weren't able to do."

Austin agreed with his sister, lovingly referring to his folks as "blue collar."

"My dad owns his own air conditioning business, works his tail off and gets his hands dirty every day," he said. "Mom is a banker. Their whole deal was just providing us with the best opportunity at all costs. It's something that really benefitted my sister and me. And those are qualities that I try to teach our guys at Illinois … doing the right thing, treating people with respect, doing your best in the classroom, and developing every day. Every day I wake up, I try to help someone else be the best 'you' you can be."

So, Addie, what's something Illini fans don't know about Austin?

"One of the things that I love about my brother so much is how compassionate he is in everything that he does," she said. "When Austin was in college, he went as a walk-on. It was a huge financial commitment for my parents, so he was really diligent about not spending money frivolously. One time after they visited him, my parents gave him a little bit of spending money. Austin and some of his friends were going to take a short trip and they had stopped at a gas station. A man asked Austin if he had any money. Austin said that he looked behind the guy and in his car were two young kids. My brother literally took the money that my parents had given him and bought the guy gas and bought some food for the kids. He just feels things for people. That's just how compassionate he is."

Nowadays, the Clark kids, who played collegiately on different coasts, work at Midwest campuses just 91 miles apart.

"I'm really fired up that she's so close," Austin said. "She comes to a lot of Illini games and it's been a cool experience for both of us."

Addie agrees.

"It's the first time we've lived near each other since I went away to school when I was 18," she said. "He got the job at Illinois and then over the summer I got the opportunity at Purdue. I was like 'Holy cow … could this be real? Could I actually be working in the same conference and be like an hour and a half from him?' I'm able to just call him up and pop over to Champaign for dinner, then drive home. It's so cool to have him nearby."

And, if you were wondering, Mom and Dad will be attending the Illini-Boilermaker series this weekend. The question is, however, which of their child's school colors will they be wearing?

"They mostly wore orange and blue during the football season," Addie said, "but since it's softball season, they will probably be wearing black and gold. Though I wouldn't put it past my dad to wear an Illinois hat with a Purdue shirt."