A regular column by Athletic Director Bill Husak.
Dec. 2003
The month of December is one of the busiest for our student-athletes. They return from a Thanksgiving break to prepare for final exams while still thinking about their athletic teams. Some will be preparing to begin their seasons after they return from their semester break, others are still competing and yet some are beginning their off-season programs. So it is indeed a hectic time.
For our LMU Lions, the athletic year has been very successful to date. As I write this column, our two basketball teams have started well with both our men's and women's basketball teams winning early season tournaments. Indeed, their November starts have been the best combined starts in program history and we are excited to see what December holds for both programs. Both Julie Wilhoit and Steve Aggers have built proud programs that will be successful.
Our fall sports have been the most successful in history. Our women's volleyball team was selected to play in the NCAA tourney and this marks the third team from our fall sports schedule to go on to post season play. Both men's soccer (NCAA second round) and men's water polo (NCAA Final Four) have already been selected and are or have competed. We have never had more than two teams go to post-season play from the same season. This is an athletics program first.
At one point this fall, we had four teams ranked in the Top 20 and we have never had more than two previously in any given week. Our winning percentages for the fall sports is the highest that it has ever been and we have beaten an unprecedented number of top 25 teams this fall as we have strengthened our schedules.
To top it all off, the West Coast Conference has proven so far to be the strongest Division I - AA or AAA, and perhaps the strongest conference in the country. In the three sports of men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball, the WCC has sent 16 of a possible 23 teams to NCAA post-season play. In other words, 70% of the conference teams have qualified. I doubt that there is a conference in the country that can boast that success so far this year.
We achieve because we are committed to creating the best possible experience for the outstanding young men and women we recruit. Let me repeat what I said about a year ago, and that is that I believe we are truly entering a golden period in LMU Athletics history. As we stand at this threshold, the door is opening for us to take advantage of our success to build that foundation for even greater future achievements. Thank you so much for being a part of this effort. Your support means a great deal to everyone at the University, but most of all to our student-athletes. Best wishes to you for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Go Lions!
Bill
