Loyola Marymount University Athletics

A regular column by Athletic Director Bill Husak.

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June 2002

Every year, we strive to field teams and athletes who are competitive athletically, successful academically and who take advantage of the opportunities we provide them to grow in spirit and become better people. I am amazed at all that we accomplish toward fulfilling these three goals every year. To review many of these accomplishments, I would like to refer you to a document on our web site that details our achievements this year. Here is the link:

2002 End of Year Report

I would like to make note of some highlights that I do believe are noteworthy in the three areas that I have mentioned.

Athletic Competitiveness

The athletics records and accomplishments indicate that the program has had a successful year with numerous milestones. I believe that the following highlights are particularly noteworthy:

• The men's soccer team earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament with a program-best 9-7-2 overall record and a fourth place finish in the West Coast Conference, who sent five teams to the NCAA tourney.
• The men's water polo team earned its first bid to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championships with a 15-14 overall record. They earned the bid to the Final Four by claiming the Western Water Polo Association conference championship with a win over UC San Diego. The WWPA Championship Tournament was hosted at Burns Recreation Center and marked the program's first conference championship in school history.
• Loyola Marymount University was selected to be the host of the 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championships at Burns Recreation Center in December. It will be the first time LMU has hosted an NCAA championship event.
• Women's Cross Country runner Edit Pakay won the WCC Women's Cross Country Championship in the fall of 2001. She became the first women's cross-country runner to win the women's 5K in the WCC. In the spring Edit continued her amazing year by being the #1 player on the women's tennis team.
• Women's water polo, a team that advanced to the 2001 NCAA Final Four, claimed its highest ranking of number six during the 2002 season, won its second consecutive Western Water Polo Association Title and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament where it beat the University of Michigan to earn third place.
• Women's tennis won its first ever WCC Championship and for the first time in program history played in the NCAA Tournament.
• Men's Tennis has one of its best home record in program history winning 14 straight matches and finished with its best record ever at 20-6. In addition, the team finished third in the WCC Tournament equaling its best finish ever.

Although we have experienced steady improvement we are not satisfied with our achievements. We now want to be champions. As part of this effort, we have significantly upgraded our schedules in many of the sports we compete. Baseball, as an example, played the most difficult non-conference schedule of any team in the country. If we want to be the best, we must compete and best the best.

Academic Success

Creating an environment for student-athletes to be successful in the classroom as well as on their teams is paramount to the Department. The creation of the Athletic Academic Coordinator's position, and the hiring of Sr. Maureen Schaukowitch to fill that position, is already paying dividends. Our most recent graduation rate of 73% for students receiving an athletic grant in aid and 82% for those that complete their athletic eligibility at LMU is higher than the University's average and quite laudable when compared to institutions across the country. In addition, we continue to develop our policy that our student-athletes attend 15-units per semester to ensure that they stay on course to graduate within four years. Although I do not have the summary data for the year or the spring, let me mention a few of the highlights fro the fall:

• Men's Teams Fall 2001 Semester GPA was up from Spring 2001 (2.862 from 2.698) and is the highest since spring of 1996 (2.882).
• Women's Teams Fall 2001 Semester GPA was 3.010, marking the fifth consecutive semester our women's teams recorded over a 3.0 GPA.
• 16 of 17 teams had at least one team member appear on a Dean's List.
• Athletic Dept. had 158 student-athletes with a Fall 2001 GPA over 3.0. We had 153 in Spring 2001.
• Women's Teams Fall 2001 Semester GPA of 3.010 was above the 10-year average of 2.961.
• Men's Teams Fall 2001 Semester GPA of 2.862 was above the 10-year average of 2.774.
• We had 2 student-athletes with perfect 4.0 GPA's in Fall 2001

The Athletics Coaching Staff takes great pride in recruiting student-athletes that are as academically gifted as they are athletically. Annually, the profile of the incoming student-athlete mirrors very closely the academic profile of the general student enrolling at Loyola Marymount University. It should be noted that the Athletics Department academic support could not be successful without the assistance of all areas of the campus whose goal is the graduation of students at LMU. This includes the areas under Vice President for Academics Joe Jabbra. We are most grateful for his colleagues support in this effort.

Growth in Spirit and Social Responsibility

The athletics program is committed to fostering the total development of the student-athletes who attend LMU. In addition to the classroom and competitive excellence, our student-athletes are provided opportunities to enhance their education through service. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) continues to be a strong presence within the program and a model for others in the West Coast Conference and across the country. We annually engage a speaker to come in and do a workshop in the area of alcohol and drug usage. This year Mike Green was our speaker and his talk dealt with issues surrounding alcohol use by collegiate athletes. Every student-athlete, team and staff member is encouraged to become involved in campus life and community service. Our involvement is too numerous to mention in detail, however here is a sampling of what has been accomplished this year:

• Four students and two staff attended the APPLE alcohol prevention workshop in San Antonio, TX in January.
• Seven student-athletes were honored as McKay, Kilp or Greek Man of the Year winners.
• Over 20 athletics department staff members participated in annual "Into the Streets" community service day.
• Numerous youth sports clinics coordinated by Athletics staff were given to inner city children.
• The staff has been involved with numerous NCAA Committees, national teams and serving on local boards and organizations.

Every year, we strive to enhance upon these annual goals and attempt to weave them into the LMU culture. We are proud of the efforts our student-athletes, coaches and staff play in modeling the expectations of this outstanding institution. We could not be as successful without the support of so many people in so many different ways. For this we are truly grateful.

Go Lions!