A regular column by Athletic Director Bill Husak.
January 2002
The duty of an Athletics Director is to provide the very best athletics experience for all associated with the program within the philosophy and structure of the university. It has been my pleasure to serve as Loyola Marymount University's Athletics Director for the past four years and, I hope, in some measure advance the athletic experience for all of our constituencies. In this somewhat regular column, I hope to share space with others who can provide you with insight about the operations of the Department.
In this inaugural article, I would like to share three perspectives with you. The first deals with academics. We are here to support and further the academic pursuits of student-athletes while providing them the opportunity for a Division I athletic experience. Every year, 40 % of our athletes are students who receive no athletic aid to participate on their respective teams. As a program, we value the academic success of our athletes and annually recruit student-athletes that mirror the academic credentials of the incoming student body. During their academic careers, our students GPA's are on a par with that of the general student body. And the culmination of that academic experience yields a student-athlete graduation rate this year of 73% while our general student-body graduation rate was 70%. This past year, we also instituted a Departmental policy that mandates each student-athlete be enrolled in a minimum of 15 units each semester and 30 units for the year. These minimums are 20% higher than required by the NCAA and would be considered excessive by many institutions. However, we feel that if a young person wishes to accept the athletic challenges that LMU provides, it should also be willing to accept its academic challenges. The first year results are in and the findings are impressive. We have completed more hours per student-athlete this past year than the previous year and the average GPA's were higher than the previous year. Although many may be given credit for this phenomenal progress, the Lion share has to go to the student-athletes. Congratulations to them on meeting the academic challenge served them.
The second perspective deals with the role of being competitive and winning in our program. It is our goal to compete for and win the conference championships. In the process, we hope to be in NCAA tournaments and provide an air of excitement for our fans. Last year, as an aggregate program, was our most successful in history. We won nearly 56% of our dual contests, and we hope to exceed that statistic this year. In the past 16 months, our women and men's water polo teams finished third in the country and both competed in the Final Four - a first for any LMU team. Our men's soccer team for the first time in history competed in an NCAA tournament and our 2000-01 women's basketball team had its most successful season ever. For the first time, a Lions cross-country runner won the West Coast Conference Championship and a women's tennis doubles team competed in the NCAA's. I am proud of the continued improvement in all of our programs and the desire on the part of the coaches and athletes to commit to becoming champions.
The final perspective that I wish to share is that of being an architect for the future. I believe that every leader, whether it is a coach, university president or athletics director has to be a visionary and share that vision with those that can make it reality. For nearly two years, I have been working in concert with my staff and key University people to develop a Strategic Plan for Athletics that will become incorporated within the University's Strategic Plan. It is our hope that budgets, facilities and endowments will become comparable with the better programs in southern California, the West Coast Conference and across the country so that LMU can field teams that we all can be proud of. Dollars and facilities don't always equate to success, but there is a very high correlation for the opportunity for success to breed when they are present along with quality people. We have already had people like Paul Mikos (Mikos Blue Monster at George Page Stadium), Albert Gersten (B. Ann Gersten Aquatics Score Board), Tom Bove (Jane Browne Bove Boat House) and Jay Flood (The Jay Flood Aquatics Coaches Offices) contribute significant dollars towards facilities so that our student-athletes and coaches can compete and train in environments that are special and worthy of their dedication. They have seen that vision and are excited about making it come true and we thank them and all who commit their monetary resources, time and effort.
I frequently refer to the fact that it takes a university community to raise an athletics program. Our community of students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and fans are as dedicated as any in the country. We welcome your support and participation as we continually strive to improve upon the athletic experience at Loyola Marymount University. I hope to see you at an athletic contest soon and until that time? GO LIONS!
