The Road to the NCAA
History of the NCAA
The NCAA, originally called the IAAUS until its name change in 1910, is a member led organization which was created in 1906 in order to regulate the rules of college sports and to protect young athletes. Football was the inaugural sport in the NCAA and at the start of the 20th century, because of a lack of rules and regulations it was a very violent sport. In 1904, there were 18 deaths along with 159 serious injuries during football games. Due to the danger of the sport, there was public outcry for reform or cancellation. This is one of the reasons the NCAA was created.
Another important reason for the NCAA was the inclusion of women's sports and it's support of Title IX, federal law prohibiting sexual discrimination in education the expansion of athletic programs for women began in the 1970s. Not until January 13, 1981, did the NCAA approve a plan to include women's athletics programs and services within the NCAA structure. This opened the door to increased athletic and academic opportunities for female athletes. Over a span of two years, 13 women's sports held their first official NCAA championship events, starting with field hockey and cross country in November 1981 and continuing each season until Division I added indoor track and field in March 1983. Today, the NCAA sponsors 45 women's championships and three coed championships in 21 sports, providing more than 225,000 women with an opportunity to compete for national titles each year.
The NCAA has proven to be beneifical for both genders along with benefits for all students ranging from academic scholarship, support, medical care, experiences, healthy living and preparedness for life. The Harvard Business Review reports that student athletes have strong skills in time management and working with others towards a common goal. Many companies have been quoted stating that they prefer to hire student athletes because they are more prepared for life. With the average college graduate leaving college with more than $35,000 in debt, the scholarships afforded to student athleties could alleviate quite a bit of that burden.
History of Athletics at TAMUCC
TAMUCC opened its doors in 1947 as the University of Corpus Christi and the inaugural athletic program began in 1948 with the Tarpon football team and quickly added swimming, boxing, tennis and basketball through the 70s, but the programs became too expensive to maintain and were disbanded. However, after a 23 year drought of athletics an attempt was made once again to bring sports back to the Island. Prior to the inaugural season as a Division I level collegiate member of the NCAA, TAMUCC participated as an independent program as a NCAA Division III program from 1999-2000. In 2005 all teams joined the Southland Conference and have been members ever since.
Why NCAA Division I?
Athletics can improve college enrollment and retention by a variety of ways like by increasing a school's visibility and appeal, community building and pride, positive media attention, scholarship opportunity, and recruitment. Successful teams, which can generate more public interest, attract potential students, and lead to an increase in college applications, often referred to as the "Flutie Effect," essentially act as a form of mass media advertising and can have a strong impact on enrollment and retention (Silverthorne, S., 2013).
University President, Dr. Robert Furgason along with 4UCC President, Mark Scott and other Corpus Christi community members believed that the addition of NCAA Division I athletics would go a long way to grow enrollment, revenue, and bring national exposure to the area. These men were also instrumental in supporting the transition for the university to grow to a four year institution. When the university moved to a four-year institution in 1996-1997, enrollment was 5,000-6,000 students. That number has since doubled. TAMU-CC is now considered a mid-major regional university with an enrollment of about 11,000.
The Road to NCAA Division I
The first step to making the move NCAA Division I required hiring an Athletic Director, so the search was on. Dr. Furgason chose to use a hiring committee for the search rather than a talent search company, and this committee was comprised of both university members and community members from Corpus Christi. In an interview with Ann Degaish, she shared her exjperinces as the Co-Chair of the committee along with Jerry Susser, a local, prominent businessman. Ann at the time was the Director of Recreational Sports and is now the Associate Vice President of the Health and Well-Being Unit in SEAS, she was able to shed light on that time period as Athletics developed but also how it impacted both Kineseology and Rec Sports. The committee interviewed 7 candidates for the AD position and ended up bringing 4 on campus for interviews. The goal of the committee along with President Furgason was to hire someone who understood the vision of the program, the elements of an athletic program, fundraising, but could balance the administrative work and quckly make connections with the community. The initial goal was to hire someone from the area or at least with some connections. After much deliberation, the committee offered the position to Dan Viola who was at the time the Athletic Director at Wyoming State University for a whopping $75,000, less than a quarter of what an AD salary is currently for a mid-major DI program.
The first thing on the agenda for Dan Viola was to raise money and he proved to be quite proficient at that task. He very quickly made strong connections with large local companies like Circle K, Padre Staples Mall, Caller Times, and later Flint Hills and Dominoes. Meanwhile, the University's Sutdent Government Association voted to increase the Athletic Fee to max out at $6 per credit hour, which was a $2 increase and student's were less than thrilled and voiced their complaints via protests. As of Fall 2024, the athletic fee per credit hour is $25.
Along with hunting for the university’s first Athletic Director, the search committee charged the student body and community with choosing a new mascot, name, colors, and design. The original mascot from the 40s was a Tarpon, Tarpie the Tarpon. In an interview with Julie Shuttlesworth, the then Assistant Director for Marketing and Promotions and Women’s Success, she claimed the Tarpon costume was old, stinky and scary so the hunt was on for a new mascot. The Department reviewed several variations of a new mascot and finally landed on the Polynesian version of Izzy with his grass skirt and mask. He was deemed the 6th weirdest mascot by BuzzFeed in 2019 and shortly after that the university received numerous complaints from some faculty and students claiming the mascot was racist and offensive. The university reached out to the Hawaiian Office of Hawaiian Affairs for their feedback. The Hawaiian Office came back responding that in fact the tattoos and mask inaccurately represented sacred practices, so the hunt was on for a new Izzy. So, the marketing team hurried for a new design, decided to drop the mask, necklace and grass skirt, sent Polynesian Izzy off to a tropical Island to retire and introduced Izzy the Islander. The new Izzy was introduced in May of 2022 as Izzy the Islander, same name, same spirit, new look. In March 2023, with the onset of the NCAA Basketball Tournamnet, Izzy the Isalnder was named the coolest mascot among all NCAA mascots.
Once funding was secured, the next task was to hire coaches for the 14 teams required to meet the NCAA Division I mandate along with administrative staff for marketing and business. Within 2 years Viola was able to hire 18 individuals to fill these roles. The goal was to hire coaches from the local areas in order to draw athletes from the surrounding vicinities. The 14 teams were as follows: Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Women’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Cross Country, Baseball, Softball, Women’s Golf, Men’s and Women’s Tennis. To many people's surprise, a football team was not in Viola's 5 year plan, despite being known as a "football guy." The truth is the budget to run a football program would cost more than the budget for the other 14 teams combined.
Steven Moore, the first tennis coach hired, is actually still the tennis coach after a short career at a few other universities. Steven King was brought on as a volunteer announcer in 1999 and is still involved with the program as the Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Sales and Broadcasting. In conversations with Mr. King, he showed such appreciation for the opportunities he has had as part of the TAMUCC Athletics program. He still announces games both on radio, TV and in person and shared wonderful memories of his visits to some of the greatest college athletic facilities in the country.
What the road has been like?
The lack of facilities proved to be a big challenge for the Islanders. In an attempt to draw in community support, Athletic Director, Dan Viola negotiated a deal with the City of Corpus Christi to utilize the then iconic Memorial Coliseum for home basketball games. Unbeknownst to Mr. Viola, the city was also negotiating a deal with the Western Professional Hockey Team, the IceRays. The city signed deals with both organizations which meant that TAMU-CC played their first few years of games on courts over ice. It proved to be an inhospitable setting and potentially dangerous as water often pooled over the wood floor during games inside frigid temperatures to keep the ice from melting. Fans were run on each corner of the court up until game time and during halftime. The IceRays were labeled a “blue collar” team and their fans had a reputation of being rambunctious and often threw dead stingrays onto the ice. These dead fish often got stuck between seats or the courts and the Islanders would sometimes come in for games to the smell of dead rotting fish.
Volleyball practiced and played all home games in what is now called the Moody Fieldhouse, but at that time was knowned as the Glasscock Fitness and Wellness Center. This space housed athletics, rec sports and kineseology classes. According to Ann Degaish, who was the Director of Recreational Sports at the time, said the days were very hectic with Kineseology classes held in the morning, open rec in the afternoon and athletic practices in the evenings along with home games. Baseball, softball, tennis and golf practiced and played games/mathces at local Corpus Christi City Parks and Field.
Where are we now?
Since Dan Viola, TAMU-CC has been through four additonal Athletic Directors, and all have helped the program grow. In 2006-2007, the Islanders were welcomed into the Southland Conference and have been there ever since. The athletic program, now an NCAA Division I Southland Conference school supports 16 men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports, and in 2024 reached its silver anniversary.
With Viola’s five-year plan to, he had to quickly assemble an administrative and coaching staff, with one of his first hires being Ronnie Arrow, the inaugural coach of Islanders Men’s Basketball. With no uniforms, equipment or facilities the team overcame it’s challenges and finished their first season with a 13-13 record, which included a five-game winning streak to conclude the 1999 season. The Islander’s Women Basketball team completed their inaugural season in 1999-2000 with a 14-12 record under Coach Sheryl Estes.
The first NCAA Championship for TAMU-CC was won in 2007 by Shadrack Sonok who won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter run. Sonok trained at Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Field because TAMU-CC did not have its own facility until the Dr. Jack Dugan and Family Track and Soccer Stadium was opened in 2013. Since then, more than 11 Islanders have won conference championships.
Student-athletes have enjoyed significant facility upgrades over the years, including the opening of the Dugan Wellness Center in 2009 and the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in 2011.
Coaches have also won their accolades at TAMU-CC with Coach Steve Moore winning the Southland Conference Coach of the Year title 13 times. The men’s and women’s tennis teams hold a combined 33 Southland Conference titles and 16 NCAA appearances going into the 2024 season.
Coach Steve Greene who was hired on Feb. 4, 2016, is the winningest coach is program history. His volleyball team just won their 3rd Southland Conference Championship and will participate in their 3rd NCAA Tournament, the first two in 2020 and 2021.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball have multiple SLC Championships, and the women made program history as they earned their first visit to the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Quickly matching that winning mindset, coach Gayle Stammer has taken the Beach Volleyball team beyond expectations in just seven years. The program has seen four championships in the last three seasons alone, with back-to-back Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles along with trips to the NCAA Tournament.
All programs have combined to win almost 20 championships through 2024, with no intention of slowing down. And with the recent passing of legislation to build a new athletic compound, the road to more championships just got wider. With 25 years of excellence already in the books for Islanders Athletics, the department looks to expand on its success that continues to reach new heights each year.
References
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