commodore nation - oct. 2007

Meet Interim Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos

October 2007

EARL BENNETT RACES THROUGH EARL BENNETT RACES THROUGH THE RECORD BOOKTHE RECORD BOOK

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O NC O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 1vucommodores.com

table of contents4 National Commodore Club6 In My Words Earl Bennett

7 Commodores Cubed Know your Commodores

8 Point of View Taka Bertrand

9 Coaches’ Corner Greg Allen

11 Commodore Tidbits By the Numbers

12 Ogilvy Arrives The Final 4 with Amy Baumann

15 D’Andre Hill Track program aims high

17 Nicholas S. Zeppos A look at the interim chancellor

20 Quick Hits A look at each Vanderbilt sport

21 Commodores In The Pros22 Tate Rich

Process to endow Peach Bowl Scholarship begins

23 It’s My Turn Rod Williamson

24 Sports Calendar

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Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz

Director of Media Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Ryan Schulz

Jeremy Teaford

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Neil Brake

Steve Green

Paul J. Levy

Contributors: Taka Bertrand

Andy Boggs

Chad Crunk

Larry Leathers

Will Matthews

Thomas Samuel

Chris Weinman

Administrative

Interim Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II

Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Michael J. Schoenfeld

Exec. Director National Commodore Club: Jeff Ulmer

Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and Values

Vanderbilt University is a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. Vanderbilt will uphold the highest standards and be a leader in the quest for new knowledge through scholarship, dissemination of knowledge through teaching and outreach, and creative experimenta-tion of ideas and concepts. In pursuit of these goals, Vanderbilt values most highly intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry; and equality, compassion and excellence in all endeavors.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity,affirmative action university.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please call 615/322-4114

By Ryan Schulz

I want to welcome you to the newly designed Commodore Nation. Since joining the Van-derbilt family in August, it has been my No. 1 priority to transform Commodore Nation based on your feedback.

The make over of Commodore Nation begins with this issue, and it is our hope that you enjoy the new look and content of the magazine.

What you see in this issue is by no means a fi nished transformation. The new look and design will be a continual process that will evolve over time. Through Commodore Nation, readers will learn facts and get insight into the personalities that make up Vanderbilt athletics.

Included in this publication will be content that raises your familiarity not only on the fi eld but also off the fi eld with Vanderbilt student-athletes, coaches and administrators. This pub-lication also will provide you with content that keeps you informed of the goings on within Vanderbilt athletics, while providing information that is quicker and easier for the reader to maneuver through.

Throughout the continual process of improving the magazine, I also will be looking for feedback from readers. One opportunity to provide your input is by fi lling out the survey by visiting the link below, which is under the Commodore Nation link on VUCommodores.com.

www.vucommodores.com/cnsurvey.com

You also can contact me directly by sending letters to the editor at [email protected].

I hope you enjoy the new look and content of Commodore Nation.

The 2007-08 school year should be an exciting time in Vanderbilt athletics, and I look forward to providing you with the best coverage of the Commodores.

Go ‘Dores!

VUCommodores.com

Letter from the Editor

All New Commodore Nation

Q: Johnny Touchdown is a prospective student-athlete getting ready to begin his senior year of high school. The football coaches at Big Time University would like to send Johnny a text message wishing him good luck in the upcoming season. Is this permissible?

A: No. NCAA Bylaw 13.4.1.2 states that electronically transmitted correspondence that may be sent to a prospective student-athlete is limited to electronic mail and facsimi-les. (See Bylaw 13.1.7.2.) All other forms of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., Instant Messenger, text messaging) are prohibited. Color attachments may be included with electronic mail correspondence sent to a prospective student-athlete, provided the attachment only includes information that is not created for recruiting purposes, except for items that are specifi cally permitted as printed recruiting materi-als (e.g., questionnaires). In addition, attachments shall not include any animation, audio or video clips, and there shall be no cost (e.g., subscription fee) associated with sending the item attached to the electronic mail correspondence. (Adopted: 4/28/05 effective 8/1/05 for publications prepared for the 2005-06 academic year and after, Revised: 12/12/06, 4/26/07 effective 8/1/07)

Compliance Questions? Please contact:Candice Storey George MidgettDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/[email protected] [email protected]

By Candice Storey

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

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Benchmarking to Achieve Excellence

By Jeff UlmerNCC Executive Director

Any successful collegiate athletic program relies heavily on the financial resources pro-vided by its alumni, benefactors and fans. Vanderbilt benchmarks with schools that embrace similar values, goals and high achievements.

As we go on the road, meeting with our fans, alumni and prospective donors, we point to the success Vanderbilt University has achieved academically. Much of that success has come as a result of private giving from our alumni and friends. In years past, Vanderbilt’s admin-istration directed the majority of those private contributions toward its academic initiatives. As a result, the university’s academic standing grew in quality and stature unequaled by any of our peer SEC institutions.

We can see, first hand, how those private gifts have taken Vanderbilt from a really good regional university to a world-renowned aca-demic institution. Now we are working to elevate the stature of our athletic programs through private giving. I cannot think of a better example of the impact of private giv-ing than by illustrating the tremendous suc-cess our university has achieved in academ-ics. Athletics is benchmarking with the best – Vanderbilt academics! Our student-athletes need and deserve your support of our scholar-ship endowment campaign. With your help, we can place Vanderbilt athletics on a trajectory equal to that of our academic programs, and that spells championships!

Bobby Johnson, Bill McMinn and David Williams pose in a suite at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

Mr. Bill McMinn hosted more than 100 Commodores for an Astros game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gene and Susan Vaughan visit with Doug and Veronica Atnipp.

This is the second athletic scholarship established by the Barrett family.

Dorothy, Jacob and Joe Barrett pose with Joe’s mother, Betty, after being honored dur-ing Vanderbilt’s win over Richmond.

Vanderbilt Athletics and the National Commodore Club endeavor to endow all athletics scholarships. To help in that task, the NCC has created a new endow-ment level called the Black and Gold Society. Black and Gold Society members create an opportunity for a student-athlete while receiving full benefits of the Dudley Society with a five-year, $100,000 commitment.

For more information on the Black and Gold Society and Athletic Scholarship Endowments, please contact John Erck at [email protected] or 615/322.7922.

Call (615/322.4114), click http://vucommodores.com or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift to the National Commodore Club. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. Your Membership Matters!

CORNERCOMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 vucommodores.com

JOIN THE NCC OR RENEW TODAY!

JOIN THE BLACK AND GOLD ENDOWMENT SOCIETY

McMinn Hosts Houston Commodores

Barrett Family Establishes Another Scholarship Endowment


Tailgate parties for away games are in the planning process, so check vucom-modores.com for updates on times and locations.

Tailgate parties are scheduled for games at Auburn (Oct. 6), South Carolina (Oct. 20) and Florida (Nov. 3).

A party at Tennessee (Nov. 17) is currently being planned, as well.

The Davis family made a lead gift toward the Kwane Doster Memorial Scholarship.

t Joe Davis (left) and his nephew, Roscoe Davis, are honored by NCC Executive Director Jeff Ulmer at half-time of the Alabama football game.

• The NCC will have a reception for par-ents of student-athletes during Family Weekend at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 28. The reception will be in the Admiral’s Room in Memorial Gymnasium and will feature a question-and-answer session with Vice Chancellor David Williams.

• The Commodores and Gators take to the field in Gainesville on Nov. 3 and we want to see you there! We’ve planned a great trip with Total Sports Travel that includes airfare, two-night hotel stay and a pre-game party. For pricing information or to make reserva-tions, please call Total Sports Travel at 888/367-8781.

• Letter Winners Day and National Commodore Club Day will be cele-brated on Nov. 10 during the Kentucky football game. Mark your calendar and check back later for details.

q Vanderbilt fans fi ll up Vandyville before the Alabama game.

Alabama Game

ROAD GAME TAILGATES

UPCOMING EVENTS

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In My Words

Earl BennettHe is closing in on the all-time Southeastern Conference record for most

receptions and receiving yards in a career, but there is much more to Earl Bennett than just the numbers he puts up on the gridiron. A native of Birming-ham, Ala., the junior wide receiver has remained committed to giving back to his hometown. So much so that the city presented Bennett with the Out-standing Citizen Medal in July. In addition to giving back to the community off the fi eld, Bennett has given opposing defenses nothing but nightmares. A two-time fi rst team All-SEC selection, Bennett is the only player in SEC his-tory with two seasons of 75 catches or more. He entered the 2007 season just 48 catches shy of becoming the league’s all-time receptions leader and 1,071 yards short of the SEC receiving yardage mark.

On receiving his Outstanding Citizen Medal from

the Birmingham City Council

It was great to receive the award. I was defi nitely honored to get it. I didn’t expect it, so I was sur-prised when they told me.

On why he enjoys being involved in the

community

It really means a lot to me, and it is a big deal. I just enjoy helping out as much as I can. I believe that it is important to help in the community as much as possible.

On being mentioned with some of the top

receivers to ever play in the SEC

That means a lot to me. It is an honor to be mentioned among some of the great receivers who have played in this league. There have been so many great re-ceivers that have been through this league, and I am just delighted to be mentioned along with all of them.

On deciding to attend Vanderbilt

It was close to home, and my family really liked it. Vanderbilt has great academics and great athletics, so it seemed like a perfect fi t.

On going to college in Nashville

It is great. You meet so many people, in-cluding celebrities. It is a great campus and a great university. It is just terrifi c to be here in Nashville.

On what it would mean to help get

Vanderbilt to its fi rst bowl game since 1982

It would be very special not only for the university, but also for the city of Nashville. I would love to help get Vanderbilt back to a bowl game.


jonathanGOFFFootball

ryanPRESTON

Tennis

rachelBACHTEL

Soccer

julieECKERLY

Cross Country

Major Mechanical Engineering

Economics

I am going to double major in art, and I

am undecided on my second

Biology

Last movieI watched

The Simpsons Movie

Superman Returns

Tommy BoySuperman

Returns

Favoritemusician Outkast Mat Kearney Tim McGraw

They Might Be Giants

Sport I would like to playin college

besides myown

Tennis BasketballBasketball or

TennisSoccer

I would rather be

able to fl y or be invisible

Fly Fly Fly

Fly - I would never be late for anything

again

Window or aisle seat on A plane

WindowAisle - Have to have the leg room

Window

Window -I love the

scenery from the sky

Instrument I would play

in a bandGuitar Trumpet

Acoustic Guitar

Mandolin or fi ddle in a

bluegrass or country band

Favorite piece

of clothingJeans

Nothing beats a good pair of

shortsShoes Shoes

Commodores CubedOn how he developed his receiving skills

growing up

I’d play catch with my brothers. They would try to throw the ball real hard at me so I wouldn’t catch it, but I somehow managed to catch it. They really helped me develop my hands.

On having two brothers and two sisters

It was cool growing up with them. I was the youngest, so I pretty much got anything I want-ed. My other brothers used to get mad at me about that. I love my brothers and sisters, and they helped me become the man that I am today. I owe them a lot.

On his mom, Sarah

I love my mom to death. We’ve been through a lot together, and I wouldn’t trade her for any-

thing in the world.

On his childhood idol growing up

Jerry Rice was the person I followed grow-ing up. He was just such a great player and person. I just enjoyed watching him play.

On his favorite team as a kid

I used to love the San Francisco 49ers and Giants. I used to love Barry Bonds, too. I didn’t play baseball until I got into high school, but I used to just love Barry. I had a beanie doll with No. 25 on the back.

On playing basketball growing up

I used to love playing basketball. My eighth-grade year in middle school, I averaged 25 points per game. When I got to high school everybody was taller and bigger, so it was a growth process that I had to go through. I started playing football my ninth-grade year, and then I started playing baseball. Basketball kind of got left behind.

On his favorite off-day activity

I like to go bowl, or me and some guys will go and shoot pool at the rec cen-ter. Mostly, we will go bowling and just hang out and have fun. I kind of have a bowling form that is oppo-site from most. I use my right arm to bowl, and I also step with my right foot. It is kind of weird.

To learn more about Earl Bennett, visit mynameisearl-bennett.com. ■

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2007 Dore Jam2007 Dore Jam

Editor’s Note: Each month Commo-dore Nation will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal interest. A native of Great Falls, Va., Bertrand is a senior on the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team. She was the 2006 SEC Player of the Year.

T he fi rst time I saw John Isner I was inside the players’ lounge at Stanford University’s tennis complex, getting ready to play my fi rst round of the 2006 NCAA singles

tournament. He was a foot taller than most players around him and wearing khaki shorts, a polo shirt and sunglasses. He looked more like a frat boy than the No. 1 college tennis player in the country.

Isner has since emerged as the hottest American on the ATP tour. Since turning pro last spring, he made the fi nals of the ATP Master Series before losing to Andy Roddick. Recently he lost to superstar Roger Federer in the U.S. Open.

Isner’s success contradicts a problem with American tennis today; too many top juniors are persuaded by United States Tennis Association funding or small endorsements to turn down college scholarships. Many of these players are not physically or mentally ready for professional tennis.

Having played tennis since the age of 10, I cannot count the number of times I’ve seen a junior pass up a scholarship to turn pro early. Sadly, most end up spending the majority of their careers in lower-level events, where prize money is modest.

Isner took a different path. His resume lacks the long list of minor events that typically mark the early years of a profes-sional’s career. So where was he? Playing tennis in the South-eastern Conference and making a name for himself as the 6’-9” kid with the untouchable serve.

Isner, now 22, recently completed his eligibility at Georgia. By most tennis standards he is old enough to be a veteran. But with American tennis starving for the next Pete Sampras and the USTA struggling to produce top prospects, Isner could not have arrived at a better time. His overpowering serve appeals to the younger generation, and his traditional serve and volley style reminds our seniors of what the game used to be. And like most college graduates, he seems eager to work hard at his fi rst job.

Isner helps prove that juniors can go to college and then com-pete professionally. Elite collegiate conferences provide tre-mendous competition, especially with the growing infl ux of foreign players. A scholarship also offers free coaching, train-ing and facilities. Most juniors would benefi t from this environ-ment. Vanderbilt’s Bobby Reynolds left after his junior year and still is having success on the tour. Others, like Isner, have chosen to stay four years.

But college tennis is not just about playing tennis. It’s about go-ing off to a different place, making new friends and growing up.

Whenever I see Isner on television, I am reminded of the fi rst time I saw him. Even if he didn’t beat Federer at the U.S. Open, he has options in his life – such as attending a Georgia football game, where he’ll feel at home in his khaki shorts, polo shirt and sunglasses. ■

Point of View Frame by Frame

By Taka Bertrand


Greg AllenHead Women’s Golf Coach

Greg Allen is in his fi rst year at Vanderbilt after

serving as head coach at Arizona from 2000 to

2007. At Arizona, Allen led the Wildcats to two

Pac-10 titles and an NCAA runner-up fi nish in

2002. He also coached 10 All-Americans, in-

cluding current LPGA star Lorena Ochoa.

Why did you ultimately decide VU was

the place for you?

It really came down to my family and getting

my children back to the southeast where my

wife and I grew up. Being around our family

was really important to us. Once I got here for

the interview and started to meet people and

really learn about the university and Vanderbilt

athletics, it made the decision pretty easy.

What was the hardest part about

leaving Arizona?

The relationships that were built with the team

and people at the University of Arizona. It was

home for seven years and having to say good-

bye is never easy. The relationship I had with

our team was pretty special, and it is one that

I hope I can have with this team.

Did you know you wanted to be a golf

coach when you were younger?

No. I was a huge basketball fan growing up.

Basketball was the sport that I always thought

would be my life.

How did you get into coaching?

I got involved in golf working with the Ameri-

can Junior Golf Association from an opera-

tions standpoint. John Fields at Texas hired

me and realized that me working at the AJGA

tied in well with the junior golfers because so

much of what we do is about recruiting, and

he took a chance on me.

What is the best advice a coach ever

gave you?

“Sometimes the best things you do for golfers

is just get out of their way.” – legendary Texas

golf coach George Hannon

What is more diffi cult to coach in golf

– the mental part of the game or the

physical part?

Mental

CORNERC O A C H E S ’Richmond & Alabama GamesRichmond & Alabama Games

2007 Homecoming/Reunion Weekend ScheduleOct. 12-13Friday, Oct. 12Meet the Faculty Reception Hosted by Interim Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Class-Sponsored Educational EventsNoon - 4:00 p.m.

University Update with Interim Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos4:15 p.m.

Undergraduate Class Parties Begin6:30 p.m.

All-Class Party: Pat Patrick Band on Alumni Lawn10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13Homecoming Tailgate sponsored by the Nashville Vanderbilt Chapter2 1/2 hours before kickoff

Homecoming Game: Vanderbilt vs. GeorgiaTBA*Check VUCommodores.com for game time as the date nears

Registration: You can register for Reunion events online. Visit Vanderbilt.edu/alumni/reunion and follow the link to your class web site.

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3.012 Cumulative grade point average of all Vander-bilt varsity athletes in 2006-07.

10 of Vanderbilt’s athletic teams qualifi ed for the NCAA Tournament during the 2006-07 school year.

16 The number of varsity athletic teams at Vanderbilt.

93% The overall aca-demic Graduation Success Rate for Vanderbilt student-athletes, the highest in the SEC.

98 The number of years since Vanderbilt last played eight home football games. Vanderbilt plays eight home games in 2007.

7 The overall rank Vanderbilt received in the fi fth annual National Collegiate Scouting Association Power Rankings. Vanderbilt was ranked 25th in 2006.

15,063 season tickets sold for the 2007 foot-ball season, the highest total since 1997.

• With 15,063 season tickets sold for the 2007 football season, Vanderbilt topped its highest total since 1997.

• Head women’s golf coach Greg Allen announced the hiring of assistant coach Nicki Cutler on Aug. 21. Cutler was a four-year letterwinner at Vanderbilt from 1999-2003, where she earned honorable mention All-America honors and was named twice to the All-SEC team.

• Michael Thompson, who was recruited by and played for current Vanderbilt men’s golf coach Tom Shaw at Tulane, fi nished second at the 2007 U.S. Ama-teur Championship. Shaw and Thompson left Tulane following the 2005-06 season after the program was eliminated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thompson now is in his senior season at Alabama.

• All of Vanderbilt’s football games are being broadcast free on the Internet this season. Fans can listen to the games by visiting the Commodore Nation All Access link on VUCommodores.com. All of the content on Commodore Nation All Access is available free, just by creating a user name and password. In past seasons, fans had to pay to listen to the games on the Internet. Content is also available for mac users by using the Safari web browser.

• Head baseball coach Tim Corbin was named 2006-07 Vanderbilt Coach of the Year. Corbin was honored during the Richmond football game on Sept. 1. In 2007, Corbin led Vanderbilt to an SEC title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

NUMBERST I D B I T SC O M M O D O R E By TheBy The

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AMYBAUMANN• Soccer• Senior• Midfi elder

Amy Bauman is a senior from High-lands Ranch, Colo., who is majoring in human organizational develop-ment with a focus on human services and child development.

Is it harder to score a goal on a penalty kick or on a one-on-one breakaway?On a breakaway because if you are coming at a goalie, she can cut off your angles. On a penalty kick you have the whole goal to to work with.

What is your favorite off-day activity?I like to do crafts. I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like to in season, but I like to color. Sometimes I will bring my markers with me on road trips. I just have a good time doing crafts.

When did you begin playing soccer, and how did you get into it?I was four when I started playing soccer. My dad always played, so he kind of got me involved. He was my coach my whole life when I was younger.

Once you fi nish playing soc-cer at Vanderbilt, what do you want to do next?I’d really like to get into doing some missionary work outside of the coun-try. I’d also like to get my master’s degree in elementary education, but that might not happen right away.

#33

The Final

I t may be more than a month until the court starts to heat up inside Memorial Gym, but the excitement for the 2007-08 season al-

ready is mounting. Along with three returning starters, Kevin Stallings and his staff welcome six freshmen into the mix, including highly tout-ed Australian import Andrew Ogilvy.

A 6-foot-10, 250-pound, post presence from Canberra, Australia, Ogilvy has yet to play a Division I game, but that hasn’t kept him from being labeled as a potential NBA prospect in the 2008 NBA Draft.

One web site – NBADraft.net – has Ogilvy slated to be drafted No. 17 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Ogilvy’s rising stock is a direct cor-relation to his play at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Champion-ships in Serbia, where he wowed scouts by fi nishing third at the tournament in scoring (22.3) and rebound-ing (9.8). He also was fourth in the tournament in blocks (2.3), while shooting a robust 68.6 percent from the fi eld.

Ogilvy prepped at the Australian Insti-tute of Sport, which has produced a long line of collegiate and professional players, in-cluding 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Bogut. The list of current college players from AIS includes Indiana’s Ben Allen, Nebraska’s Aleks Maric and Baylor’s Aaron Bruce.

After also being recruited by Saint Mary’s, New Mexico and UNLV, Ogilvy ultimately decided to become a Commodore.

A dominating presence on the block, Ogilvy had been on the radar of college coaches from the start, but it wasn’t until the Douai Tourna-ment in France this past June that NBA scouts began discussing the big man.

At the tournament, Ogilvy established himself as the top center prospect at the event after av-eraging 20 points per game in leading Australia to a 5-1 record.

Other accolades received by Ogilvy include being named to the Oceania Under 19 Cham-

pionship All-Star team in 2006. At the event, Ogilvy averaged 15 points,

10 rebounds and two blocks. He also represented the country at

the Youth Olympics and was named the 2005 New South Wales Junior Basketball Play-er of the Year.

With the departure of Derrick Byars to the NBA, Ogilvy and

the rest of the freshmen will be counted on to help fi ll his void.

Ogilvy’s fi rst test against Division I com-petition will come on Nov. 10, when the Com-modores open their 2007-08 season at home against Austin Peay. ■

Ogilvy Arrives44Player Spotlight

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J ust as winning can be contagious for a program, losing can be as contagious, if not more. Having inherited a Vander-

bilt women’s track and fi eld program that is starving for success in the Southeastern Conference, fi rst-year head coach D’Andre “DeeDee” Hill understands the challenges ahead.

“I think the main challenge is changing the mentality of this program,” Hill said. “Vander-bilt has been down for so long, and it is very convenient to get locked into that defeatist mentality when you are trying to change the mentality of the program.“

The Vanderbilt track and fi eld program has produced a multitude of individual success stories at the conference and national level, including nine All-Americans, but what has eluded the Commodores more than anything has been team success. In 22 outdoor sea-sons and 18 indoor seasons in the SEC, the Commodores have yet to fi nish higher than eighth.

Hired on July 17 after spending the past three seasons as an assistant at TCU, Hill is poised to turn Vanderbilt into a contender in the highly competitive SEC.

“The prospect of moving this program excites me,” Hill said. “In the past, this program has been very mediocre in the SEC, and this is a great opportunity to really take this program to new places and establish ourselves in the SEC as a contender.”

Contending in the SEC is a challenge for any program. Regarded as the top track and fi eld conference in the nation, the SEC is responsi-ble for more than half of the women’s all-time indoor and outdoor titles. Nationally, the SEC has won 15 of the 26 outdoor titles and 13 of the 25 indoor titles.

Thankfully for Hill her fi rst season at Vander-bilt will be anything but a crash course in the SEC. As she returns to the league for the fi rst time since competing at LSU, where she was a 15-time All-American and six-time NCAA Champion. Hill’s success at LSU helped vault her to the 1996 Olympics, where she reached the semifi nals in the 100 meters.

“I am kind of prejudiced, but I believe the SEC is the best conference in the country,” Hill

said. “It recruits itself. If you can come into this conference and be a conference cham-pion or make the fi nals, you pretty much can fi nish in the top 10 or 15 in the country.”

In addition to returning to the conference where she once competed, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native also is returning to the head coaching ranks for the fi rst time since serving as head coach at Dayton from 2002 to 2004.

“I think my experience at Dayton is a great tool to pull from while moving into my role at Vanderbilt,” Hill said. “Having the oppor-tunity to do things my way at Dayton and also being at TCU under coach (Darryl) Anderson were great learning experiences.

Coach Anderson taught me a lot about the organization and day-to-day running of a top-20 program, and I think that is the direction we need to move Vanderbilt.”

As the Flyers’ head coach she mentored nu-merous All-Atlantic 10 Conference perform-ers, on the track and in the classroom. Her team maintained a GPA of 3.0 or better in each of her three years at Dayton.

At TCU, Hill coached the women’s sprints and relays under Darryl Anderson, while help-ing the women’s team increase its NCAA fi n-ish in each of her three seasons in Fort Worth, Texas. Just last June, Hill helped the women’s team earn its highest fi nish at the NCAA Out-door Championships since 1993 by placing in a tie for 27th with nine points.

Gathering what she learned from her time at Dayton and TCU, Hill believes that her expe-riences at both universities have helped her become an even better person and coach.

“I think I have softened a lot,” Hill said. “I’m not as hardcore as I used to be. And even be-ing with Darryl (Anderson) has taught me that. I used to have a hard line on things, and it was my way or the highway. I still hold a little bit of that, but you’ve got to be able to embrace the kids and understand their points.”

Despite all of the challenges that surround a fi rst-year coach at any school, Hill knows that she has the necessary support at Vanderbilt, and she is eager to make winning contagious to the point that it becomes synonymous with Vanderbilt track and fi eld.

“Vanderbilt is very committed to being sup-portive of this team,” Hill said. “The adminis-tration wants to see the track and fi eld team do well, and that is what we want to give back to them. Having that support to move the program to different heights is very important to us.” ■

The D’Andre Hill File Age 34 (born April 19, 1973)

Hometown Cincinnati, Ohio

High School Mount Healthy High School (Cincinnati)

Education Bachelor’s Degree, Louisiana State University (1998) General Studies with two minors in Fitness Science

Family Children - Kiandra (8)

Coaching Exp. 2001-2004 Dayton (Head Coach) 2004-2007 TCU (Assistant Coach) 2007-present Vanderbilt (Head Coach)

Awards 1993-1997 Six-time NCAAChampion 1995 Team member - World Championships 1996 Olympic 100m Semifi nalist 1996 Honda NCAAAward recipient as the

Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year

“This is a great opportunity to

really take this program to new

places and establish ourselves

in the SEC as a contender.”

Hill was a 15-time

All-American at LSU

Hill Aims To Take Track & Field Program To New Level

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Nick Zeppos still remembers as if they were yesterday the times during his childhood when he and his two older brothers would spend endless summer hours at the old County Sta-

dium in his native Milwaukee watching his beloved Braves play.For a kid growing up in one of America’s most enduring sports towns,

there was nothing more exciting than the opportunity to watch the iconic Hank Aaron carve out his place in history as baseball’s greatest home run hitter of all time.

“I was an incredible baseball fan.” Zeppos said. “My brothers and I, we’d go to Braves games all the time. I must have gone to hundreds of those games. Rain or shine we were at the ballpark.”

The Braves organization jilted Milwaukee by relocating to Atlanta in 1965, but by that time a love not only of baseball but of all things athletic had long been ingrained in Zeppos’ psyche.

It is a love that Zeppos, Vanderbilt’s new interim chancellor, says has been nurtured and expanded during his 20-year career at the university.

“We had overlapping seasons in Milwaukee, but if we didn’t have multiple sporting events in a day growing up, then it wasn’t a day grow-ing up,” said Zeppos, who earned his B.A. and law degrees from the Uni-versity of Wisconsin. “I always have loved sports. I just very much enjoy athletics and athletic competition. To be a part of that at Vanderbilt, one of the greatest universities that has had so much success in athletics, so many great kids, great coaches and which competes in the Southeastern Conference, it is like a dream come true.”

When Zeppos – who came to Vanderbilt in 1987 as a professor of law and has subsequently served as associate dean of the Law School and, for the last six years, as provost and chief academic offi cer – rose to succeed former Chancellor Gordon Gee who left the post after seven years in July, there was some concern over what would become

of the university’s athlet-ics department under the stewardship of a man who largely had been known as the keeper of the school’s academic standards.

But in fact Zeppos was a key co-orchestrator of the once controversial move to fold Vanderbilt’s athletics department under the aus-pices of student life – a move that has yielded unprecedented competi-tive success for many of the university’s sports programs.

And, like Gee, Zeppos sees no reason why success in the class-room cannot happen in concert with success on the playing fi eld. An unabashed sports fan, Zeppos said he relishes the fact that Vanderbilt athletics now is an important part of his new role as interim chancellor and is quick to reassure anyone and everyone that it is only onward and upward from here for Commodore sports.

“I’m going to have to budget my time very carefully because I would probably spend 90 percent of my time with the teams if I could,” Zep-pos said. “I’m excited about being able to have a hand in the continued success of our athletic program.”

It will be a role that is not altogether unfamiliar to the 53-year-old Zeppos.

In his role as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, Zep-pos sad he had a direct hand in recruiting many of the athletes that have matriculated at Vanderbilt in recent years.

“One thing I considered the ultimate compliment is when a coach would call me and say, ‘I’ve got a couple of recruits here. Could you meet with them?’” Zeppos said. “So I have always tried to stay involved and supportive in so many different ways, from recruiting to admissions to academics. So while my involvement has not been as visible as it certainly is going to be, it was a signifi -cant and very exciting and enjoyable part of my job. Nothing made me happier than to be able to hear from Kevin [Stallings] or Bobby [Johnson] that we got a kid we had been after.”

Zeppos said he has been as excited as anyone to wit-ness the kind of national success that Vanderbilt sports teams have enjoyed in recent years, and that in many ways one of his primary roles as the interim chancellor will be to work hard to mitigate the impact that change at the top of Vanderbilt’s administration will have on the athletic program.

“I don’t do the operations, I don’t call the plays, I don’t throw the passes,” Zeppos said. “I see my job as simply trying to do whatever I can do to support all of the talented people who do those things. What can I do for them? What can I do for them to help them

Zeppos Committed To Building On Vanderbilt’s Success

Zeppos prepares to lead the class of 2011 onto the field for the annual Freshmen Run.

By Will Matthews

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7O C T O B E R 2 0 0 718

realize their dreams? I want our coaches and student-athletes to understand that this change doesn’t have to have a negative impact. I view myself as work-ing with them. They are not working for me. If anything, my role is to support them and work for them.”

Vanderbilt’s recent athletic success has enabled the univer-sity to make increasing strides toward garnering signifi cant support from within the greater Nashville and Midstate areas, something else Zeppos hopes will continue under his watch.

“I think that Vanderbilt’s success in athletics is a great source of pride to this neighborhood, this city and this region,” Zeppos said. “I go out to those baseball games, and it is really something to go to, to see a family out there enjoying a ballgame. That’s really heartening to know that we are touching people in the community. I’m proud to be able to welcome sons and daughters and fathers and mothers and grandparents to an ath-letic event whether they went to Vanderbilt or not. It is great for me to hear people say things like, ‘I saw Jay Cutler play in the NFL last week and I am so proud’ or ‘What a great player David Price is.’ And these aren’t people from the class of ’58, ’68 or ’78. They are people who live in Nashville, and that’s great.”

Zeppos said he understands why there might be some unease over the ramifi cations of the departure of Gee, who was widely seen as a fer-

vent cheerleader for Vander-bilt athletics and the creator of the new model.

But Zeppos also is quick to point out that the vision for Vanderbilt sports that was de-veloped at the turn of the cen-tury was created by a cadre of university administrators – almost all of whom remain in place and who maintain their commitment to seeing the vi-sion come to full fruition.

“It was a team approach that did that,” Zeppos said. “Gordon talked to the man-agement team, and we decid-

ed this was the right way to go. But it has been the leadership of all the vice chancellors, the deans, the coaches, the staff, the assistant coaches that has really built the incredible momentum coming off a fairly contro-versial decision that many people thought was hair-brained, frankly. If it ain’t broke, I’m not going to tamper with it.”

Indeed, the only substantive change that Zeppos anticipates will be positive ones: “more ticket sales, more wins and more championships from the smartest, best athletes in the country. I’m getting ready for our bowl game. And I’m expecting that bowl game to be in January, not December.” ■

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7O C T O B E R 2 0 0 720

MEN’S SPORTSBaseball

Outfi elder Dominic de la Osa will return for his senior year at Van-derbilt after he was unable to come to terms with the Detroit organization. De la Osa, a fi rst-team All-Ameri-can in the 2007 campaign, was drafted by the Tigers in the 10th round of the amateur baseball draft in June but did not reach an agreement with them before the Aug. 15 deadline. The coaching staff announced the addition of transfer Drew Hayes to the Commodore program. Hayes, a sophomore pitcher, comes to Vanderbilt from Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn. Hayes went to McKenzie High School and was the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2006. He also was a fi rst-team all-state selection and the district’s most valuable player. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound ath-lete also was drafted by the Arizona Diamond-backs in the 29th round of the 2006 amateur baseball draft.

Basketball The 2007-08 schedule was re-leased (see page 24). Highlighting the schedule are games against 15 teams that made postseason play last year. Vanderbilt also well make 11 ap-pearances on national or regional tevelvision this season. Head coach Kevin Stallings announced the sign-ing of Festus Ezeli, a 6’-11”, 245-pound center from Nigeria. Ezeli is the sixth member of this year’s freshman class. He graduated from high school at the age of 14 before moving to Northern California.

Cross Country• The men’s team fi nished third at

the Belmont/Vanderbilt Invitation-al on Aug. 31.

• Senior Austin Williamson led the way for the Commodores team and fi nished seventh overall in the 5k event in a time of 15:32.87.

• Despite an injury, sophomore Thomas Davis fi nished 25th overall in 16:03.03.

• Not too far behind Davis was senior Rick Semo-nes. Semones fi nished in 27th place in 16:10.57.

Football The 41 points scored by the Com-modores in their win over Rich-mond was the most in a season opener since scoring 47 against Middle Tennessee State in 1950. Wide receiver Earl Bennett earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Sept. 3 after catching 13 pass-es for 223 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Richmond. Bennett’s yardage total broke the previous Van-derbilt single-game mark of 222 yards achieved by Clarence Sevillian against Tennessee (Nov. 28, 1992). Bennett’s 13 receptions is a new SEC standard for opening-game performances by a receiver, bettering the former mark of 12.

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A sellout crowd of 39,773 attended the Alabama game. The sellout was Vanderbilt’s second in its last three home games.

Men’s Golf The men’s golf team will play host to the annual Mason Rudolph In-tercollegiate this October at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. The tournament is scheduled to run Sunday the 21st through Tues-day the 23rd. Jon Curran and Chris Rockwell qualifi ed for the 2007 United States Amateur Championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Both Com-modores advanced to match play, with Curran winning his fi rst round match over University of Washington graduate Alex Prugh. Two other current Commodores notched impres-sive performances this summer. Hudson John-son captured medalist honors at the Spirit of America Classic, while incoming freshman Adam Hofmann won the Pennsylvania State Amateur. Former All-American Brandt Snedeker captured his fi rst PGA Tour victory in August by winning the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. In his fi rst year on the tour, Snedeker is a leading candidate for PGA Rookie of the Year honors.

Tennis The men’s tennis team opened its 2007-08 season at home with the Vanderbilt Invitational Sept. 14-15. Led by third-year head coach Ian Duvenhage, the Commodores have a young team that includes seven underclassmen on a 10-man roster. Individually, Ryan Preston is ranked No. 29 in the preseason ITA singles poll, while Nick Cromydas is ranked No. 74. The doubles team of Preston and Vijay Paul is ranked No. 44.

WOMEN’S SPORTSBasketball

The women’s basketball team spent a week in Spain this sum-mer, playing three international exhibitions during a tour of Bar-celona, Valencia and Madrid. Vanderbilt’s nine returning play-ers won all three games by 40 or more points. Highlights of Vanderbilt’s 2007-08 schedule, an-nounced earlier this month, include home games against Duke, Tennessee and Georgia, and a De-cember trip to Berkeley, California. The Commo-dores will defend their SEC Tournament title at Nashville’s Sommet Center in March 2008. Chanel Chisholm (Long Island, N.Y.), Jence Rhoads (Slippery Rock, Pa.), Rebecca Silinski (Birmingham, Ala.) and Hannah Tuomi (Thornton, Colo.) make up the 2007-08 Commodore fresh-man class. With four freshmen and six sopho-mores (including redshirt Amy Malo), the Com-modores will be a young team this season.

Cross Country• The women’s team fi nished in

second place at the Belmont/Vanderbilt Opener. They were runners up by only 8 points to Tennessee.

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• Two freshmen, Rita Jorgensen and Adrienne Di-Raddo, led the pack for the Commodores and fi nished fourth and ninth overall, respectively.

• Jorgensen’s time of 14:28.31 was the fastest time ever for a freshman in the 4k course.

• Four of the top 11 fi nishers in the 4k race were from Vanderbilt. In addition to Jorgensen and Di-Raddo, junior Carmen Mims fi nished 10th over-all, while senior Julie Eckerly took 11th.

Women’s Golf The women’s golf team is pre-season No. 10 in the GolfWorld/NGCA preseason poll. Junior Jacqui Concolino is the No. 4 ranked “Golfer to Watch” in 2007, according to GolfWorld. Concolino also was named Team USA’s MVP in the 32nd Annual Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Cham-pionship in July at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. The Vanderbilt women’s golf team hosted the 2007 Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship Sept. 14-16 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. Twelve out of the 17 teams in the tournament were ranked in the preseason top 15, including the No. 1-ranked team and three-time defend-ing NCAA champ Duke, No. 2-ranked Arizona State, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 USC, No. 5 Auburn, No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Stanford, No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Wake Forest, and No. 15 Florida. Other teams in the tournament include Arizona, Kentucky, LSU, Ohio State and South Carolina.

Lacrosse Senior goalkeeper Brooke Shi-naberry earned a spot on the 2007-08 United States Develop-mental women’s lacrosse team. Shinaberry beat out a host of collegiate talent in a three-day tryout this summer. Former VU All-American Jess Roguski also had success in Baltimore, earning a place on the U.S. Elite squad. Roguski helped lead the Commodores to the 2004 NCAA Final Four. Coach Cathy Swezey’s Commodores will host their annual Alumni Game at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, as part of Vanderbilt’s homecoming weekend.

Soccer Senior Sarah Dennis recorded her fi rst collegiate hat trick in the Commodores 6-0 victory over Tennessee Tech on Sept. 9. She leads the team in scoring (four goals), already surpassing last season’s total of two. The Commodores recorded three shutouts in their fi rst four games and led the SEC in that category (0.48) through Sept. 10. The club recorded nine shutouts a year ago and are using fi ve newcomers this season including redshirt Lindsay Ratterman. VU’s goal in the offseason was to be a more ag-gressive offensive team and through the early slate, the team has responded with 23.2 shots per game.

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GregAllen

Steve Keith

RonnieCoveleskie

IanDuvenhage

MelanieBalcomb

Tom Shaw

BobbyJohnson

SteveKeith

KevinStallings

TimCorbin

CathySwezey

Quick Hits


Swimming The Vanderbilt swim-ming and diving team was named a Division I Academic All-Ameri-can Team as it post-ed the third-highest GPA among Division I swim programs. For the spring 2007 semester, the Com-modores attained a 3.563 team GPA. The University of South Carolina had the highest GPA with a 3.606, while Iona College came in second with a 3.580 GPA. The Commodores released their 2007-08 schedule, which features the fi rst home meet since the program was reestablished last year. Vanderbilt wel-comes Miami (Fla.) to the Centennial Sportsplex on Jan. 11 for a dual meet. The ‘Dores open up the season on Oct. 13 at Southern Illinois.

Tennis• Vanderbilt senior Aman-

da Taylor made the semifi nals at the 2007 ITA National Summer Championships Pre-sented by the USTA. Taylor lost a hard-fought match in the semifi nals to Notre Dame’s Brooke Buck. Incoming freshman Katie Kilborn also competed in the event, falling in the second round.

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• Sophomore Catherine Newman spent some of her summer in France com-peting in professional events. New-man, who was competing as an ama-teur, won two events in France and made the fi nals in two others. Joining Newman on the trip was senior Taka Bertrand and former Commodore Amanda Fish.

• Former Vanderbilt standout Aleke Tsou-banos was named Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach on July 27. Tsoubanos comes to the program after competing professionally for the past three years. The St. Louis native enjoyed a very successful career as a Commodore, earning numerous NCAA and ITA All-American honors.

• Senior Amanda Taylor is ranked No. 20 in the preseason ITA rankings, while Catherine Newman is ranked 28th and Taka Bertrand is ranked 73rd. The dou-bles teams of Taylor and Courtney Ulery and Newman and Bertrand are ranked No. 21 and No. 58, respectively.

Track and Field D’Andre Hill was named head track and fi eld coach on July 18, be-coming the fi rst Afri-can-American coach in school history.

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Commodores In The Pros

Baseball Name Pos. Level Team (Parent Club)

Mike Baxter OF A Lake Elsinore (SD)Matt Buschmann P A Lake Elsinore (SD)Cody Crowell P A Auburn (TOR) Ty Davis P R Missoula (AZ)Brian Hernandez C A Eugene (SD)Matt Kata 2B MLB Pittsburgh PiratesRyan Klosterman 3B AA New Hampshire (TOR)Jensen Lewis P MLB Cleveland IndiansTony Mansolino DH A Lynchburg (PIT)Greg Moviel P R Arizona (SEA)Ryan Mullins P AA New Britain (MIN)Cesar Nicolas 3B AA Mobile (AZ)Josh Paul C MLB Tampa Bay Devil RaysDavid Price P A Columbus (TB)Robert Ransom P A Palm Beach (STL)Tyler Rhoden P R Billings (CIN)Antoan Richardson OF A San Jose (SF)Ryan Rote P A Kannapolis (CHW)Jeremy Sowers P MLB Cleveland IndiansJeff Sues P A Hickory (PIT)Casey Weathers P A Modesto (COL)

Men’s BasketballName Pos. League Team

Derrick Byars G/F NBA Philadelphia 76ers

Women’s BasketballName Pos. League Team

Chantelle Anderson C WNBA San Antonio Silver StarsSheri Sam G/F WNBA Indiana FeverCarla Thomas F WNBA Chicago Sky

FootballName Pos. League Team

Corey Chavous SS NFL St. Louis RamsJay Cutler QB NFL Denver BroncosJovan Haye DT NFL Tampa Bay BuccaneersHunter Hillenmeyer LB NFL Chicago BearsMatt Stewart LB NFL Cleveland BrownsJamie Winborn LB NFL Tampa Bay BuccaneersTodd Yoder TE NFL Washington Redskins

Men’s Golf Name Tour

Brant Snedeker PGALuke List Professional Golfer

Women’s Golf Name Tour

Sarah Jacobs Graham FuturesMeredith Ward LPGAMay Wood Futures

Men’s TennisName Tour

Bobby Reynolds ATP

Women’s TennisName Tour

Julie Ditty WTA

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Immediately on the right when you walk through the front door of the Delta Coals Inc. offi ce suite in southwest Nashville, you’ll fi nd a picture from the 1975 football

season that would make any Vanderbilt fan smile. The picture eloquently captures the scoreboard and the celebration on

the Vanderbilt sideline as the clock struck zero in the Commodores’ 17-14 victory at Neyland Stadium.

“That right there was an exciting moment, and one that I will never forget,” said Tate Rich, the cur-rent president of Delta Coals Inc., as he pointed at the image.

As a four-year letterman at defensive end from 1972 to 1975 for the Commodores, Rich was a part of two of the biggest games in school history. Not only was Rich a member of the 1975 team that beat Tennessee in Knoxville for the fi rst time since 1959 and the single time from 1959 to 2005, but he also was a starter on the 1974 team that became just the second team in school history to earn a trip to a bowl game, playing Texas Tech in the Peach Bowl.

A second-generation graduate, whose father, John, also played football and baseball for the Commodores, Rich has remained a loyal supporter of Vanderbilt athletics. Rich’s continued support of the athletics program has led him to his latest challenge of spearheading the initiative to endow a $300,000 scholarship in the name of the Peach Bowl Scholar-ship. The scholarship will honor the Commodores 1974 Peach Bowl team and will be fully funded by members of the team.

As the cost of attending college continues to rise, the importance of endowed scholarships has grown exponentially to the point where they have become the life-blood of success in college athletics.

As a former student-athlete who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1976 and a law degree in 1979 from Vanderbilt, Rich understands the im-portance of endowing scholarships from a fi rsthand experience.

“Most of my friends on the team wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend Vanderbilt without the assistance that scholarships provide,” Rich said.

Having graduated from Vanderbilt 31 years ago, Rich believes that he understands the benefi ts a scholarship provided him more now than when he was in school.

“While athletes work hard and certainly earn their room and board for as hard and as much work that is put into being a student-athlete in the Southeastern Conference, it’s probably a benefi t that only sinks in years later,” Rich said. “You realize the kind of experience you had and just how meaningful it was.”

The idea behind the creation of the Peach Bowl Scholarship was brought up to Rich during the 2006 football season by Lucy Jones, senior

director of the National Commodore Club and John Ingram, chairman of the athletic committee.

“Lucy (Jones) and John (Ingram) mentioned that the Gator Bowl team had funded a scholarship and suggested that it would be a great time for the Peach Bowl team to step up and fund a scholarship,” Rich said.

With the goal in mind to raise $300,000 to endow the scholarship, Rich has taken the lead role of drumming up support by sending letters to former teammates on the 1974 team.

“This was a very close-knit team,” Rich said of the ’74 squad. “We had a fabulous experience at Vanderbilt. My class in particular played

under three head coaches, and we actually saw the depths of the program our freshman year and had the good fortune to be

able to turn it around.”A native of Nashville, Rich grew up around Vanderbilt

his entire life, having graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy just a few miles down the road from the cam-pus. Rich’s love for the university extends far beyond just him and his father. Rich and his wife, Nora, a 1978 Vanderbilt graduate in civil engineering, have four chil-

dren, two of whom are enrolled at Vanderbilt.“I inherited a lot of my love for Vanderbilt,” Rich said. “My

dad has always been a strong Vanderbilt supporter, but I think people who play at Vanderbilt really recognize what a special place it is and what a tremendous opportunity it is for student-athletes to be on that campus and to be associated with quality people at Vanderbilt that you encounter every day.

“My dad was a football and baseball player at Vanderbilt, and he impressed upon me pretty early that Vanderbilt is probably the best thing that ever happened to him. It al-lowed him to do things in his life that he was never able to do.”

Having met people from all over the country through business, Rich has seen fi rst-hand how his degree from Vanderbilt has helped his career.

“In the business world, a degree from Vanderbilt gives you a little bit of credibility,” Rich said. “I think people from around the country understand the quality of school Vanderbilt is, and they respect people who graduated from there.”

Rich has many fi ne memories from his time as a student-athlete at Van-derbilt and one of his most memorable moments was being selected to play in the Peach Bowl.

“That was just a great day to hear our selection in the Peach Bowl,” Rich said. “It was about as good as it gets. We knew what an accomplishment it was for Vanderbilt to go to a bowl game, and we knew it was a tremendous accomplishment for the program.”

Rich is excited about the opportunities the Peach Bowl Scholarship can present to future Vanderbilt students, but he’s also excited about the pos-sibility having the ’74 Peach Bowl team reunite.

“The main thing that I told John (Ingram) and Lucy (Jones) that I was in-terested in was having a team reunion because we went through a whole lot together as coaches and players,” Rich said. “I’m looking forward to a ban-

quet with an open mic so that we could all tell the stories of that team.” ■

Tate Rich Leads Endowment Initiative

Cost of Endowed Scholarships at VanderbiltFull Grant and Aid Endowed Scholarship ____________ $900,000Full Endowed Scholarship (Tuition) _________________ $600,000Partial Endowed Scholarship _______________________ $300,000Black and Gold Scholarship _______________________ $100,000


M y high school economics teacher, Mr. Shrum, used to say “fi gures don’t lie, but liars can fi gure.” Forty years later

it is the only economics I’ve retained.

Not so long ago, non-productive players were run off the rosters of big-time football and basketball teams. “Recruiting mistakes” were encouraged to leave for greener pastures or their tutors quit showing up and they fl unked out. With so much riding on a winning team, the coach wanted to replace them with better players.

NCAA graduation rates were bleak. Vanderbilt led the Southeastern Conference in graduation by more than 20 percentage points with many, if not the majority, of league brethren under 50%.

To put “student” back in the term student-athlete, the NCAA began a program charting each member’s retention and academic success. This system would penalize those falling short of minimum standards.

At last, a way to even the playing fi eld! Everyone would play by the same rules; mavericks would be set back signifi cantly by loss of scholarships.

The Vanderbilts and Stanfords expected they had an advantage with this new Academic Progress Report (APR). After all, they would not need to change what they were doing, while their competition would be forced to conduct business quite differently.

Three years have passed, and while a few schools have lost scholar-ships because of poor APR rates, not much has changed. Suddenly those burly football powers that had been the subject of academic ridicule are posting passable numbers. How?

Optimists will say coaches are not taking the risky prospects any-more. There is truth to that. Others point out that competitive student-athletes rise to meet any challenge. OK. But there is something else.

In order to count toward a school’s APR total, a student-athlete must be on scholarship. Would it surprise anyone to learn that a lot of smart walk-ons are suddenly being awarded scholarships in their junior or senior years? Coaches will say Johnny has “earned” the scholarship, and that is true. But don’t ever expect a similar walk-on with medio-cre grades to get that late scholarship.

No gridiron power will stay that way giving gobs of grants to guys that could pass for Goober. But a handful of these mini-Einsteins fi lling roster gaps help “cook the books.”

Sleight of hand is not limited to APR scores. Two years ago in a mon-ey-saving mood the NCAA ruled that team media guides could not exceed 208 pages. These publications had become blatant recruit-ing pieces. Two offenders in the Big 12 had yearbooks nearing 600 pages, and the arms race was heating up.

Loopholes were openly discussed before the legislative ink was dry. One school produced a 550-page “Spring Outlook.” And another, I’m told, had a 500-page game program that looked a lot like the old media guide.

Mr. Shrum was right, and he always will be as long as there is a score-board and we continue to worship “winners.” ■

It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

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Vanderbilt Fall/Winter Sports CalendarMEN’S SPORTSBasketballDate Opponent Result

11.5 Tusculum (Exhibition) TBA11.10 Austin Peay TBA11.13 at Toledo 5pm11.20 Valparaiso 7pm11.23 vs. Utah State (South Padre Island) 9pm11.24 vs. Iowa or Bradley (South Padre Island) TBA11.29 South Alabama 7pm12.1 Georgia Tech 12pm12.5 Wake Forest 7pm12.8 Lipscomb 3pm12.12 at DePaul 7:30pm12.22 Tennessee State TBA12.29 Tennessee-Martin TBA12.31 Iona TBA1.3 Rice 7pm1.5 UMASS 3pm1.9 South Carolina 7pm1.12 at Kentucky 12:30pm1.17 at Tennessee TBA1.19 LSU 12pm1.27 at Florida 12pm1.30 at Ole Miss TBA2.2 Auburn TBA2.6 at Georgia TBA2.9 at South Carolina TBA2.12 Kentucky TBA2.16 Florida 2pm2.23 Georgia 3pm2.26 Tennessee TBA3.1 at Arkansas 3pm3.5 Mississippi State 7pm3.8 at Alabama TBA3.13-16 at SEC Tournament (Atlanta) TBA

Cross CountryDate Opponent Result

8.31 Belmont/Vanderbilt Opener 3rd (99)9.15 Commodore Classic All Day9.29 at Louisville Invitational All Day10.13 at Arkansas Chile Pepper Inv. All Day10.27 at SEC Championships All Day11.10 at NCAA Regionals All Day11.18 at NCAA Championships All Day

FootballDate Opponent Result

9.1 Richmond W, 41-179.8 Alabama L, 10-249.15 Ole Miss 6pm9.29 Eastern Michigan 6pm10.6 at Auburn TBA10.13 Georgia (Homecoming) TBA10.20 at South Carolina TBA10.27 Miami (Ohio) 1pm11.3 at Florida TBA11.10 Kentucky TBA11.17 at Tennessee TBA11.24 Wake Forest 1pm

GolfDate Opponent Result

9.14-16 at Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic All Day9.24-25 at Shoal Creek Invitational All Day10.14-16 at The Ridges All Day10.21-23 Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate All Day2.17-19 at Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Champ. Al Day3.2-4 at Seminole Intercollegiate All Day3.16-17 Kauai Collegiate Cup All Day3.28-30 at Furman Intercollegiate All Day4.6-8 at The Reunion All Day4.18-20 at SEC Championships (Sea Island, Ga.) All Day

TennisDate Opponent Result

9.14-15 Vanderbilt Invitational All Day9.21-24 at Southern Collegiates All Day10.1-7 at ITA All-American Championships All Day10.5-7 at Georgia Tech Invitational All Day10.12 Alumni Reunion All Day10.19-22 at ITA Regional All Day11.1-4 at ITA Indoors All Day1.26 Tennessee-Chattanooga TBA1.27 Michigan State 1pm2.2 Samford 1pm

2.3 Memphis 1pm2.7 New Mexico 2pm2.9 vs. North Carolina State (Ann Arbor, Mich.) 2pm2.10 at Michigan 12pm2.16 Furman TBA2.17 Wisconsin 1pm2.23 Middle Tennessee State 1pm2.29 Florida 2pm3.2 South Carolina 1pm3.7 at Arkansas TBA3.9 at LSU TBA3.21 at Auburn TBA3.23 Alabama 1pm3.28 Ole Miss 2pm3.30 Mississippi State 1pm4.4 at Tennessee TBA4.6 at Georgia TBA4.12 at Kentucky 1pm4.17-20 at SEC Tournament TBA

WOMEN’S SPORTSBasketballDate Opponent Result

10.31 Cumberland (Exhibition) 7pm11.5 Anderson College (Exhibition) 7pm11.9 UAB 7pm11.11 Furman 2pm11.14 at Indiana State 6pm11.20 at Clemson 6pm11.23 Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tourn. TBA (Belmont, Iowa State, Michigan)11.25 Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tourn. Consolation Game 12pm11.25 Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tourn. Championship Game 2pm11.28 Duke 7pm12.1 vs. St. Mary’s (Berkeley, Calif.) TBA12.2 at California TBA12.6 Western Kentucky 7pm12.9 Colorado 2pm12.22 Lipscomb 7pm12.30 Old Dominion 2pm1.2 South Florida 2pm1.5 at Princeton 1pm1.10 Mississippi State 7pm1.13 at LSU 4pm1.17 Georgia 7pm1.20 at Tennessee 2pm1.27 Ole Miss 2pm1.31 at Florida 6pm2.3 at Georgia 11am2.7 South Carolina 7pm2.10 at Alabama 2pm2.14 Kentucky 7pm2.17 Tennessee 3:30pm2.21 at Arkansas 7pm2.28 at Auburn 8pm3.2 Alabama 2pm3.6-9 at SEC Tournament (Nashville) TBA

BowlingDate Opponent Result

11.9-11 at Wisconsin-Whitewater All Day11.17-18 at UMES Hawk Classic All Day1.18 at Central Region Duals All Day1.19-20 at Greater Ozark Invitational All Day2.1-3 at Lady Indian Invitational All Day2.9-10 at Capital Classic All Day2.16-17 at Morgan State Invitational All Day3.1-2 at Holiday Classic All Day3.15-16 Columbia 300 Music City Classic All Day

Cross CountryDate Opponent Result8.31 Belmont/Vanderbilt Opener 2nd (61)9.15 Commodore Classic All Day9.29 at Louisville Invitational All Day at William & Mary All Day10.13 at Arkansas Chile Pepper Inv. All Day at Chattanooga All Day10.20 Southeastern Classic All Day10.27 at SEC Championships All Day11.3 Race for the Cure All Day11.10 at NCAA Regionals All Day11.18 at NCAA Championships All Day

GolfDate Opponent Result

9-14-16 Mason Rudolph Championship All Day9.24-26 at NCAA Fall Preview All Day10.5-7 at Lady Tar Heel Invitational All Day10.19-21 at Stanford Fall Intercollegiate All Day11.4-6 at Collegiate Match Play Champ. All Day2.25-27 at Arizona Wildcat Invitational All Day3.9-11 at UCF Challenge All Day3.21-23 at Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic All Day4.4-6 at Ping ASU Invitational All Day4.18-20 at SEC Championships (Louden, Tenn.) All Day

Lacrosse (Fall Schedule)Date Opponent Result

10.6 vs. Lousiville (Loyola Hound Round Robin) 8am10.6 vs. G. Mason (Loyola Hound Round Robin) 10am10.6 vs. Cornell (Loyola Hound Round Robin) 11am10.12 Alumni Game 6pm10.20 at George Mason TBA10.25-26 Marathon Game TBA

SoccerDate Opponent Result

8.31 vs. Wisconsin (Georgia Bulldog Tourn.) T, 0-09.2 vs. Texas Tech (Georgia Bulldog Tourn.) W, 1-09.7 at UAB L, 1-29.9 Tennessee Tech W, 6-09.14 Gonzaga (Vanderbilt Tournament) 7:30pm9.16 Saint Mary’s (Vanderbilt Tournament) 1pm9.21 vs. Davidson (College of Charleston Tourn.) 4pm9.23 at College of Charleston (Col. of Charles. Tourn.) 1:30pm9.28 at Alabama 7pm9.30 at Auburn 1pm10.5 at Florida 7pm10.7 at South Carolina 12pm10.12 Georgia 7pm10.14 Tennessee 2pm10.19 LSU 7pm10.21 Arkansas 1pm10.25 at Ole Miss 7pm10.28 Mississippi State 2pm11.2 Kentucky 7pm11.7 at SEC Tournament TBA11.8 at SEC Tournament TBA11.9 at SEC Tournament TBA11.10 at SEC Tournament TBA11.11 at SEC Tournament TBA

SwimmingDate Opponent Result

10.13 at Southern Illinois All Day10.19 at North Florida All Day10.20 at Georgia Southern All Day11.2 at Alabama/LSU All Day11.10 at Marshall All Day11.16-18 at Western Kentucky Inv. All Day1.11 Miami (Fla.) All Day1.19 at Arkansas All Day1.26 at Georgia Tech/Emory All Day2.20-23 at SEC Championships (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) All Day3.1 at Last Chance Meet All Day

TennisDate Opponent Result

9.28-30 at Furman Fall Classic All Day10.4-6 at ITA All-American Championships All Day10.19-21 June Stewart Invitational All Day11.1-4 at Fall SEC Championships All Day1.18 at New Mexico TBA1.20 vs. Colorado (Albuquerque, N.M.) TBA1.26 Michigan 2:30pm1.27 Notre Dame 2:30pm2.20 Middle Tennessee State 2:30pm2.29 at Florida TBA3.2 at South Carolina TBA3.5 at Georgia Tech TBA3.7 Arkansas 2:30pm3.9 LSU 2:30pm3.13 Furman 2:30pm3.21 Auburn 2:30pm3.23 at Alabama TBA3.28 at Ole Miss TBA3.30 at Mississippi State TBA4.4 Tennessee 2:30pm4.6 Georgia 2:30pm4.12 Kentucky 2:30pm4.17-20 at SEC Tournament (Auburn, Ala.) All Day

commodore nation - oct. 2007

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