A regular column by Athletic Director Bill Husak.
ATHLETICS ANNUAL REPORT MAY 2005
This past year, the Athletics Department motto of "Building Champions" continued to be the emphasis. For the Lions' staff, this phrase describes an active and deliberate process to create winning programs in which the experience becomes special for our student-athletes and one that makes our fans proud. This report will update our success this year, mark significant achievements and look toward the future.
The mission of the department is to provide an environment for student-athlete development that supports the pursuit of the highest level of success athletically and academically for the growth of the whole person in the tradition of the Jesuit and Marymount ideals.
The purpose of the intercollegiate Athletics Program at Loyola Marymount University is to support the overall mission, goals and objectives of the University by complementing its primary academic pursuits with championship sports programs.
Additionally, Loyola Marymount University Athletics supports "Pursuing Victory with Honor."
The Athletics program continued a tradition of athletics excellence posting an our overall winning record of 57% while winning 63% of our conference contests. We have won three conference championship in men's and women's water polo and softball. In addition, Lions teams appeared in five post-season NCAA tournaments.
The achievements of a number of teams are particularly noteworthy. The men's soccer team finished second and were in a position to win its first ever conference championship up until the last day of competition. The team did make its fourth straight post-season appearance. The men's water polo team also won its second consecutive conference championship and appeared in the NCAA Final Four for the third time in the past four years. The women's volleyball team went to post-season play for the second consecutive year. The women's basketball team, after losing four of its top six players to graduation, finished second in the conference. A hallmark of a sound program is one that is able to achieve and finish high in the standings even after losing so many quality players. The team has also recruited its first MacDonalds All American so the future appears to be bright for years to come. Paul Krumpe, John Loughran, Steve Stratos, Julie Wilhoit and their staffs are to be commended for these outstanding accomplishments. In addition, Bonnie Adair became our first ever full-time women's swim coach and led the team to a third place finish in individual and team performances which didn't break, but shattered the standards previously established. This spring, women's water polo won its fifth straight conference championship and softball won its second championship in three years and made its first ever NCAA appearance. Baseball finished very strong and won its divisional title for the second straight year but lost in a play-off for the conference championship.
The success of these teams as well as those not mentioned is not serendipitous. It was rather the confluence of the right mix in staff, the execution of a long-term plan and the support of people who value the success of the program. It is a trial-tested formula that requires patience, commitment and the faith that the outcome will be worth the time and energy. For those who have been involved in the program from both near and far, that faith has been rewarded.
I am often asked why, when most students are on a five and six year plan to graduate, we place our student-athletes on a four year plan. The answer is simple - we do it because we can. We recruit student-athletes who can not only handle the expectation of successfully competing at the NCAA Division I level, but who can meet the academic challenges that LMU has to offer. In so doing, this past year the NCAA formed a new measure which is referred to as the Academic Performance Review (APR). The APR measures annual progress toward a degree. In other words, every student-athlete on every team can earn four points per year toward their teams APR score. An athlete earns one point for remaining eligible to compete and one point for being retained at the University each semester. Because of our standards, we scored this year 5th in the nation tying with Villanova for that spot and with only Yale, Princeton, Penn and William & Mary ahead of us. It is quite an achievement and one that we expect to maintain.
In addition, our student-athletes on athletic scholarship (68% for the 1997-98 cohort and 69% for the four-year average) continue to graduate at a level that is comparable to our student body (73% for the 1997-98 cohort and 71% for the four-year average). A better indicator, however, is the average of those who exhaust their eligibility at LMU (includes scholarship and non-scholarship athletes including transfers) and that figure is 86%. LMU student-athletes are indeed accomplishing and achieving in the classroom.
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People, Facilities and Other Notable Achievements
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At the heart of every institution are people. Successful departments and programs are characterized by having people who are highly motivated and competent as well as in tune with the values and mission of the institution. Athletics is fortunate to have a vast core made up of these individuals and we have added to that core. Bonnie Adair joined our staff as our first ever full-time head women's swim coach and made an immediate impact. We also added Will Callanen to our women's basketball staff. We hired Rick Stassi and Todd Sutker as our strength and conditioning coaches and their impact in the last six months has been great. We look forward to all of their efforts resulting in stronger, quicker and faster athletes in our program.
The most notable change was in our men's basketball program. Rodney Tention was hired as our new head coach. Rodney comes to LMU from the University of Arizona where he served as an assistant coach under Lute Olsen for the last eight years. Rodney has hit the ground running and has hired Brian Priebe (an assistant coach at LMU last year) and Calvin Byrd (an assistant coach from UOP) as his top two assistant coaches. We look forward to Rodney's leadership in the future.
Facilities continue to be a point of emphasis for us. In May of last year we dedicated our new tennis court as well as Pride Park, which is the new entrance to the baseball stadium. We will continue with facility improvements this summer thanks to a generous gift from Mike Smith and an anonymous donor. We will construct a new softball stadium, which will be named after Mike and his family, and will be unique in its design and seating. In addition, we will construct the Fr. Tom Higgins Short Game Center which will include a practice putting green, chipping area, sand area and full swing hitting cages. In addition, we have created space in our last racquetball court for our Student-Athlete Academic Center as well as additional office space. These areas were sorely needed and will fill, in the short-term, the needs of the program. Fundraising for the Athletic Center continues to progress and will become a reality.
Last summer we sent three teams (men's and women's soccer and men's basketball) to Europe. One of the experiences that our athletes miss is study abroad. By sending teams to Europe, we are affording our student-athletes not only the athletic experience of competing against foreign teams, but the cultural and educational exposure to different people and ways of life. The three teams that traveled abroad have raved about that time and this May we also sent our women's basketball team to Australia for a similar exposure. Extending the program beyond traditional expectations not only helps develop the current athletes in that program, but becomes a recruiting tool to attract future athletes.
Other notable hallmarks were the completion of the NCAA Certification process. The result of our review was that we received full certification. In February we inducted our Hall of Fame class that included the 1989-90 men's basketball team. The weekend was a spectacular success as was a season in which we had two sellouts for men's basketball games - the first time since the 1989-90 season. Student attendance and fan attendance is up considerably across the program and the home field advantage is increasingly apparent.
Finally, we continue to be committed to recruiting student-athletes who have the potential to win championships, graduate in four years and who leave LMU as better people because of their experience. Our winning records, graduation rates and testimonials of life after graduation are indicators that these goals are being achieved. Yet, we feel that there is still a great deal of room to grow and improve. Our Department's commitment is to fulfill the great promise of LMU Athletics.
Loyola Marymount University
Student-Athlete Honors and Sport Records
2004-2005 Academic Year
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