University Southern California Trojans
April Edition of USC Trojan Talk
April 1998
From the Director
As the year 2000 approaches, we are involved in the most aggressive expansion of facilities in the history of the athletic department.
First of all, we're beginning construction on the $3 million Galen Center, our new dining facility that will give a double boost to our program. All teams on training table will eat dinner in this building during the season, while the Jess Hill Weight Room, which is on the lower level, will increase the total size of our weight-training area to nearly 10,000 feet.
Two more exciting projects will take place outdoors. Before next fall, we'll build a new campus soccer field on the corner of 30th and Hoover and also expand the football practice field.
Expanding Howard Jones Field to nearly the size of two full fields will give our football team much more flexibility in practicing. The new soccer field will not only help our outstanding women's program, whch had a 16-3-1 record last fall, but will prolong the life of Howard Jones Field, which was used for practice by both the football and soccer teams.
In addition, plans are now under way to construct a 3,000-seat track and field stadium on Cromwell Field. Our track program is once again one of the best in the nation, and this new stadium, which will include coaches' offices, locker rooms and storage space, will be a tremendous showcase for our men's and women's teams.
Many othe rprojects are alos being discussed, and we hope to have more good news about those in the near future.
With your help, we will continue to build -- both our programs and the facilities that house them.
-- Mike Garrett
Football Season Will Start Early As Trojans Will Play in Pigskin Classic
Opening Day is less than five months away. USC will play seven home football games next fall and 12 regular-season games in all, after agreeing toomeet Purdue in the nationally televised Pigskin Classic on Sunday, August 30, in the Coliseum.
It's the ninth renewal of the annual late-summer game, played in a different stadium each season.
"It's an honor to begin my USC head-coaching career in the Pigskin Classic," new coach Paul Hackett said. "Our players are excited about this game because they will face an outstanding team in Purdue and also because the game will be played before a national audience."
The regular season was scheduled to begin September 12 with a home game against San Diego State. Now the Trojans will play five of their first six games in the Coliseum, including Purdue, San Diego State, Oregon State, Arizona State and California.
Washington and Notre Dame are the final two home games.
The Pigskin Classic, televised nationally by ABC, will kick off at 11:30 a.m.
Purdue is coming off its best season since 1980, going 9-3 (and tying for second in the Big Ten with a 6-2 record) under new coach Joe Tiller.
The Boilermakers, who return 11 starters, were ranked 15th in both final polls.
XTRA-AM Will Be New Radio Home of USC Football and Men's Basketball
USC football and men's basketball are on the move -- to much more powerful radio station.
USC has signed a three-year contract with 77,000-watt XTRA-AM (Sports 690) to broadcast football and men's basketball, beginning next fall.
The station will also produce weekly features within its talk shows promoting these and other USC sports.
"We are extremely excited about this partnership between USC and XTRA," said athletic director Mike Garrett. "XTRA is a station that understands sports, both in how to present it and how to promote it. In turn, we'll deliver to XTRA the USC audience, which is one of the top demographic audiences in all of college athletics. This is a great match."
XTRA will present live broadcasts of all USC football games and 20 men's basketball games (all Pac-10 and two non-conference games), plus all NCAA Tournament games. The remaining non-conference basketball games will be broadcast on a station that will be announced later.
Garrett said play-by-play announcers and analysts will be named in the near future.
Companies interested in advertising on the USC game broadcasts should call Michael Keefe, manager of corporate marketing, at (213) 740-9872.
Trojan Talk Q&A: Happy Days Are Here Again for USC Track Program
No USC sport has a greater tradition than track and field. Consider some of the accomplishments: 61 world records, 87 Olympic team members, 34 gold medals, 110 NCAA individual titles and 28 men's national championships.
However, when Ron Allice was hired as USC director of track and field in 1994, the Trojan men had not won a national title since 1976 (they finished tied for 58th in 1985). The women had never won.
The men had not won a Pac-10 title since 1977. The women had never won.
With NCAA scholarship restrictions giving state schools a big advantage over private schools, particularly in men's track, the future didn't look very promising, either.
But Allice, a former quarter-miler and a big winner everywhere he has coached, jumped at the challenge to run both programs. In 1996, his secon dyear here, the women won their first Pac-10 title ever. In 1997, the men won for the first time in 20 years, and the women finished second. The men went on to finish third in the NCAA meet.
Track and Field News has picked the Trojan men to finish second in this year's NCAA meet in June. Allice has a higher goal.
Q: With tough NCAA scholarship limits and USC's high cost of tuition, is it realistic to think you can compete for national titles on a regular basis?
A: "I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think I could do it. When Mike Garrett hired me, he said, 'We want to win national championships.' So that's my primary goal.
"I also wanted to prove that we could win the conference again and bring a successful dual meet team back to USC -- both on the men's and women's sides.
"There's no reason you can't do all those things on the women's level, because you get 18 scholarships. But, with the men limited to 12-1/2, you've really got to make the right 12-1/2 decisions to be a national championship team.
"A state school is always going to have the advantage."
Q: Explain that.
A: "What makes it so difficult is that it doesn't do us any good to split several or our scholarships to get more good athletes. In other words, I can't recruit you and say, 'I'm going toogive you a half scholarship.' Well, what's half of $27,000? That's not a deal. The guy can go get half at UCLA for $3,000 to $4,000. That's an easy decision for a parent to make.
"So, we have to bring as many walk-ons into our program as possible."
Q: How many walk-ons do you have?
A: "Combining the men and women, our team is 93 strong, and about two-thirds are walk-ons. I respond to everybody who writes us or indicates an interest in going to school at USC. I don't turn anybody away, and it has been beneficial for our program.
"When our men's team won the Pac-10 meet last year, 10 walk-ons scored for us. And two scored in the NCAA meet."
Q: Do you still feel that you can have dual meets?
A: "Yes. People said we could no longer have a dual meet program because of the scholarship limitations. But, in the four years I've been here, I've scheduled some of the top teams in the country. Last year, our women's team upset LSU, which had won 11 consecutive NCAA titles.
"Our men's team came within a few points of upsetting UCLA in a dual meet for the first time in maybe 20 years. But, guess what, in the triangular scoring that day with the Bruins and BYU, we beat them.
"To show that it wasn't a fluke, we went to the conference meet and beat them again. And we beat them in the NCAA meet, too."
Q: Was this a job you always wanted?
A: "Yes. This was the pinnacle of the profession. USC was what track and field was all about, with more national titles than any school in history. It was always a benchmark you judged yourself by in the profession. Then they fell upon hard times."
Q: What approach did you take in trying to win back USC fans and track alumni?
A: "When I came here, many of the track alums were disenfranchised. They had heard all the reasons why we couldn't be successful anymore. If it's a terrible product and your school can't do it anymore, why would you want to come out and watch? You begin to think: 'I want to remember it like it was.'
"I also think it's important that you bring poeple back to meets on this campus and put them on in an entertaining fashion. I try to do a good job in presenting the package."
Q: Of your 93 athletes, 46 (22 men, 24 women) had grade point averages over 3.00 last fall. That's astonishing.
A: "I'm not going to take credit for that. Let me just say this. The academic standards for admission to USC rose dramatically prior to my coming here and have continued to rise.
"These young people work very hard in the classroom, plus there's a very good support system. And, remember, to be a walk-on at USC, the academic requirements for admission are more stringent than they are for a scholarship athlete. You're treated like every other applicant. We've got high-caliber kids.
"We give the same special award at the track banquet -- a replica of Mel Patton in the starting blocks being started by coach Dean Cromwell -- to the man and woman we honor for academic achievement, as we do to the outstanding male and female athletes."
Q: It must be exciting thjat you're becoming more successful on the track, too.
A: "One of the things I strive to instill in the people in this program is that you represent USC, and, doggone it, we are going to be as competitive as we can possibly be.
"You have to understand that this is a high-pressure situation and you have to be prepared for it. If you aren't, if you want to do this for recreation or something else, then you're probably at the wrong school. You're going to have to be competitive to represent USC. You're not just going out there to run in the sunshine."
-- Jim Perry
It's Time Again for Swim With Mike
It's almost two decades old -- and better than ever. The 18th annual renewal of Swim With Mike, the fundraiser for the USC Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund, is set for Saturday, April 18, at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium.
The charity event will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free on-campus parking.
Since 1981, Swim With Mike has rainsed more than $1.75 million to provide scholarships enabling more than 30 disabled athletes to attend USC. Nine students are currently at the university on these scholarships, which provide tuition, room and board, books, on-campus housing and transportation, and emotional support.
This year's event will be a fun-filled day for the entire family, featuring a barbecue at noon, the Trojan Marching Band, other live entertainment, celebrities, Kid's Corner and a swim clinic hosted by former Olympians, plus USC coach Mark Schubert and former USC coach Peter Daland.
Swim With Mike was named for former USC All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a 1981 motorcycle accident. The efent was first held that year as Swim For Mike to raise money for a specially equipped van for Nyeholt. Mike now swims to help raise money for others.
For sponsor sheets or further information, please phone Ron Orr in the USC development office at (213) 740-4155.
183 Athletes Compile 3.0 Grade-Point Averages
About a third of USC's full-time student-athletes had B averages or better last fall.
A total of 183 men and women compiled grade point averages of over 3.0, with 68 of those surpassing 3.5.
Three women -- Kimberly Black (swimming), Francesca Cimino (rowing) and Alaina Kipps (volleyball) -- had 4.0 grade point averages. It was the first semester at USC for Black and Cimino. Kipps, in her thrid year at the university, has a 4.0 GPA for her entire USC career.
Don't Forget the Paul Hackett Hawaiian Airlines Golf Classic
Mark April 27 on your calendar right now for a great day of golf and football, with some fabulous tee prizes.
That's the date of the Paul Hackett Hawaiian Airlines Golf Classic at MountainGate Country Club, just north of West Los Angeles.
Golf packages start at $275, including greens fee, cart, lunch, dinner and tee prizes. Topping the tee prizes are 50-percent-discount certificates for first-class round trips to Hawaii, official USC sweat suits (not available anywhere else) and USC Reyn Spooner sport shts. Shotgun start is at 10:30 a.m. New football coach Paul Hackett will be the guest speaker after dinner.
To reserve your place or for further information, please call Joe DeComa at (714) 460-8001.
Hackett Completes Assistant Coaching Staff
New football coach Paul Hackett completed his nine-man assistant coaching staff recently when he hired former NFL quarterback Ken O'Brien to work with the quarterbacks and Steve Greatwood, who coached at Maryland last season, to work with the offensive line.
The offensive staff now includes Hue Jackson (offensive coordinator and running backs), Mike Wilson (wide receivers), O'Brien (quarterbacks), Greatwood (offensive line) and Larry Petroff (assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach). The defensive staff includes Bill Young (defensive coordinator), Ed Orgeron (defensive line), Shawn Slocum (linebackers and special teams coordinator) and Dennis Thurman (secondary).
The 37-year-old O'Brien spent the 1997 season as quarterbacks coach at UC Davis, his alma mater, after two years as a sportscaster. He played 11 years in the NFL, the first 10 (1983-1992) with the New York Jets and the last (1993) with the Philadelphia Eagles. O'Brien ranks second behind Joe Namath on the Jets' career passing yardage and touchdown pass lists (24,386 yards and 124 touchdowns).
The 39-year-old Greatwood coached at his alma mater, Oregon, for 15 (1980-1994), working with the offensive line and tight ends the last 13 years. He also coached the offensive line and tight ends for the NFL's St. Louis Rams for two seasons (1995-96), before working with the offensive line at Maryland in 1997.
Associate Athletic Director Daryl Gross Earns Ph.D.
Daryl Gross, associate athletic director and interim director of Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS), has received his Ph.D. in educational psychology.
In addition to his responsibility for SAAS, the 36-year-old Gross oversees 10 sports, helps conduct searches for new coaches and has responsibilities in several other areas, including scheduling and contract negotiations. Gross completed work for his doctorate with his dissertation, "Predictors of NFL Success: Implications for Student-Athletes."
Mike Prenger, who works with Gross as supervisor of SAAS, is also close to a doctorate. He hopes to complete work for his Ph.D. in sports psychology within a year.
All Aboard the Trojan Train to Oregon
Here's a relaxing way to go to next fall's football game with Oregon.
Consider making the trip on a special train for USC rooters -- Amtrak's Coast Starlight, which departs on Thursday morning, October 22, and arrives in Eugene Friday afternoon. Passengers will fly home on Sunday.
USC fans will have exclusive use of the first-class section of the Coast Starlight, including two lounge cars and three sleeping cars (with private bedrooms). The train travels along the ocean most of Thursday and winds through the scenic Oregon forest on Friday.
For more information, please call Ken Cotler at (818) 762-4316.
Student-Athlete Career Day Is a Big Success
Nearly 250 student-athletes turned out to meet representatives from 28 prospective employers during the athletic department's first annual Career Day at Heritage Hall in March.
The student-athletes included freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who were investigating career opportunities, as well as looking for internships and part-time positions.
"I was very impressed with how well our athletes handles themselves," said academic counselor/life skills coordinator Mike Matoso, who produced the event. "They worked hard to sell themselves, and I spoke to several who had job interviews set up in the next week."
The various companies and government agencies were each given student-athlete resume booklets to take with them.
"Many firms want to hire student-athletes because they've had so much success in the workplace -- and we wanted to help our students find those positions," Matoso said. "We haven't tapped into our alumni network like we should have.
"Next year, I want to hold a couple of workshops before the event to give our students an idea of what to expect on Career Day and also some idea of how to handle themselves in job interviews. I'd also like to get the number of student-athletes participating up to 400."
Dates, Locations Set for Hackett Speaking Tour
All athletic donors will receive invitations to the six pre-season speeches by football coach Paul Hackett this spring. Here are the dates and locations:
How About Upgrading Your Support Group Membership?
If you're considering upgrading your membership in one of USC's athletic support groups, now is the time to do it.
As part of the annual Signing Period, more than 100 volunteers are calling prospects who are considering either joining a support group or improving their membership level. If you upgrade your membership or add a new one (by joining Scholarship Club, The Committee, Cardinal & Gold or Women of Troy), you can improve your seat locations for next football season. Prospects are being invited to Signing Period events featuring new coach Paul Hackett or members of his staff.
The volunteers are once again under the direction of "commissioner" Ralph Allman. This year's "head coaches" include Mike Adler (San Fernando Valley/Conejo Valley), Joe DeComa (of defending champion Orange County), Donna Guzowski and Philip Putnam (Inland Valley/San Gabriel Valley), Chris Maling and Craig Welin (Los Angeles), Joe Young (South Bay) and Keith Matsuoka (Northern California).
For more information, please call the development office at (213) 740-4155.
