Pace football captain, Delaney Wallace, has made it his goal since his freshman year to change the culture of the team by carrying himself well on and off the field.

Coming into a team that has consistently lost, he aims to change the image of the team through exemplary leadership. One way he does this is by neither drinking nor smoking.

“It’s hard when you’re coming into something and the guys that were there before you can’t show you the way,” Wallace said. “You have to create a new path and hope that in turn, even if you don’t reap the benefits of it, that the people behind you and the people after you will be able to grow from it.”

The most difficult part of changing the campus culture, to him, is getting the entire team to function as one unit. If one part fails, the entire team suffers.

“The biggest thing is getting ninety people to do one task all at the same time,” said the five-foot-seven-inch running back.”[The team is like] families who have three members who can’t even decide what they want for dinner.”

He also wants the team to have the mentality to come back when they are down.

The Moorestown, NJ native has been playing football at Pace since his freshman year after being brought in by then-Head Coach Chris Dapolito. He has played multiple positions including running back, quarterback, and wide receiver.

“I’m a pretty simple laid back guy. I just love life,” said Wallace. “Pretty much everyone I come in contact with [always has a good vibe with me] I try my best to make sure I’m the best person I can be to everybody, and set a good example for all the younger kids who are looking at me.”

Since becoming captain he has seen improvement in the team, with members improving physically, and more joining to play football because they love the game, not just for the fame.

Wallace wears a custom pair of breast cancer awareness gloves he had made for him to show support for retired professor and cancer survivor, Dr. Ellen Mandel.

“[Mandel and I] still stay in touch here and there,” said Wallace, who plans to give her the gloves at the end of the season. “She’s a real cool teacher. She always liked me. She even called my mom to brag about me.”

Wallace has been dedicated himself to his studies, off the field, and will graduate this fall a semester ahead of his class with around a 3.5 grade point average (GPA).

Wallace has added Homecoming King to the list of accomplishments he will have under his belt when he graduates this semester. He ran with Bakhoya Mangoli, who was crowned Homecoming Queen, and received $500 for winning.

He credits his friends and team for getting the word out to vote for him.

After graduation Wallace plans to try to get into the National Football League (NFL) using the spring semester to train for the NFL Scouting Combines.

Wallace plans to become an entrepreneur and own a business, if he doesn’t succeed in getting into the NFL.

“If plan A doesn’t work, I still have plan B,” Wallace said. “I still have a good GPA, a good degree from a good school, and I will keep on working to be the best I can be.”