January 2012
Beale & Gold
VU fans take over Memphis
table of contents
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2 Compliance Corner Tailgating protocol 5 National Commodore Club ’Dores Across Nashville; SEC Hoops 7 More from McGugin By the numbers 8 My Game Senior Chelsea Preeg 10 Building a Champion 11 Cross country wins SEC 11 Bowling’s beginnings 12 Women’s golf hosts NCAAs 13 Baseball wins in recruiting 15 Franklin’s first year 15 Football Seniors First with two bowl appearances
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16 David Williams Vice Chancellor on 2011 successes 19 Five Things with... Coach Franklin discusses recruiting
21 My Turn
Rod Williamson’s monthly column
23 New Year’s Resolutions Student-athletes look ahead to 2012
To submit a letter to Commodore Nation, you can e-mail: commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu or write to Commodore Nation, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.
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24 Last Shots SAAC Holiday Party
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COMPLIANCE
COR NER Q: A:
Harriet Hot Shot is a supporter of Vanderbilt Athletics as well as a member of the women’s basketball booster group. Members tailgate before each game and have other family activities throughout the school year (all of which are open to the general public, as well). They recently welcomed the parents of an incoming fall prospective student-athlete (PSA) to their tailgate. Was this permissible? No. It is not permissible. A PSA is still considered a prospect until he or she enrolls at the institution or begins pre-season camp in August. According to NCAA Bylaw 13.02.14, representatives of an institution’s athletics interests are prohibited from making in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts, or written or telephone communications with a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s relatives or legal guardians.
Compliance questions? Please contact: Candice Lee George Midgett Director of Compliance Compliance Coordinator 615/322-7992 615/322-2083 candice.lee@vanderbilt.edu george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu John Peach Andrew Turner Compliance Coordinator Recruiting/Compliance Coordinator 615/343-1060 615/322-4543 john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu andrew.turner@vanderbilt.edu
Editorial
Publisher: Vanderbilt University Editor-in-Chief: Chris Weinman
Director of Communications: Rod Williamson Designers: Jeremy Teaford Chris Weinman
Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner
VU Photography: Daniel Dubois Steve Green Joe Howell Jenny Mandeville Anne Rayner John Russell Susan Urmy
Contributors: Brandon Barca Andy Boggs Ashley Crosby Sterling Frierson Larry Leathers George Midgett Kyle Parkinson Ryan Schulz Jennifer Stevens
Administrative
Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune
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 experimentation 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. ON THE COVER: Vanderbilt football at the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Photos by Joe Howell and John Russell, VU Photography. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe, contact Chris Weinman by by e-mail at commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt IMG Sports & Entertainment Properties. Jeff Miller, general manager 615/322-4468; jeff.miller@imgworld.com
Commodore Nation is printed using recycled paper.
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COR N E R
PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: NationalCommodoreClub.com ’Dores Across Nashville: Lacrosse
Recently, Vanderbilt alumni Meg and Richard Freeman hosted the women’s lacrosse seniors and coaching staff at their home in Franklin. The event was sponsored by Vanderbilt Alumni Relations through their successful ’Dores Across Nashville program, which seeks to build connections between current students and alumni that were involved in similar activities.
Above: Lacrosse alumni Merissa [Eide] Bogdanor (’09), Meg [Spies] Freeman (’05, ’06), Jess Demorest (’08, ’09), Sasha Cielak (’08) and Dana Messinger (’06, ’07) with Head Coach Cathy Swezey. Left: Seniors Taylor Lange, Kacie Connors, Kelly Connors, Kendall Pittinger, Catherine Carr, Ally Carey and Natalie Wills with lacrosse alumni.
Can I contribute to a particular sport or area of my choosing? Yes, any donor to a varsity sport or area
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of Vanderbilt Athletics is considered an NCC member.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR for SEC HOOPS ACTION The 2012 SEC women’s basketball tournament will take place March 1-4 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, while the SEC men’s tournament will be held March 8-11 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ticket information will be sent to NCC members later this month.
These contributions count towards your overall athletics giving and priority point total. However, gifts to specific sports or areas cannot be used toward priority seating or parking benefits. Some sports such as football (Gridiron Club) and baseball (Bullpen Club) offer benefits specific to their sport. Please contact the NCC Office at 615/322-4114 for more information and to learn more about how you can take Vanderbilt Athletics to the next level.
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More from McGugin
By The
NUMBERS
’Dore named NFF High School Scholar-Athlete
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8 national football foundation
reshman Josh Gregory, a reserve safety for the Commodore football team, is one of five student-athletes who was honored last month as a 2011 National Football Foundation High School Scholar-Athlete during the NFF’s 2011 Chapter Awards Luncheon at the WaldorfAstoria Hotel. The five high school scholar-athletes were chosen as the best in the nation among the 400,000 high school football players covered by the NFF Chapter Network for their combination of athletic, academic and leadership skills. The luncheon was part of the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame weekend in New York. A native of Goodlettsville, Tenn., Gregory completed an impressive career at Davidson Academy last spring. On the football field, he was a First Team All-Division II-A selection as a defensive back for the Bears. While his football resume is impressive, Gregory’s accomplishments off the field are Josh Gregory even more outstanding. In the classroom, he graduated summa cum laude with a 4.36 grade point average. President of his senior class, Gregory won the Admiral Lawrence Award as the
Gregory with SEC legend Archie Manning.
top football scholar-athlete in Middle Tennessee. He also participated in numerous community service projects, including aiding with Nashville flood relief in 2010 and taking multiple mission trips to Matamoros, Mexico. Now at Vanderbilt, Gregory doesn’t have any plans to slow down. He hit the ground running this summer, joining the football team as a walk-on prior to fall camp. Gregory splits his day between football—where he plays free safety primarily on the defensive scout team—and school work. “There’s not much time to do anything other than school and football,” Gregory said. “I like football a lot. As long as I’m doing something I like, it’s not that big of a deal to put in this much time.”
NCAA releases positive graduation report
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hen the NCAA released its annual report on graduation rates this fall, the news was positive across the board. Nationally, the single-year Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for student-athletes who began college in 2004 reached a new high for the NCAA, 82 percent— three points higher than last year and eight points higher than when GSR collection began a decade ago. On West End, the Vanderbilt Department of Student Athletics earned a GSR of 92 percent for studentathletes that enrolled between the 2001-02 and 2004-05 seasons. Vanderbilt maintains a nine-point edge over its nearest Southeastern Conference rival, Florida. The NCAA’s GSR includes transfer students and studentathletes who leave in good academic standing, unlike the federal rate, which does not count transfers. The GSR and federal rate calculations measure
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graduation over six years from initial college enrollment. Six of Vanderbilt’s varsity teams boasted 100-percent GSR compliance, including women’s basketball, women’s bowling, men’s golf, women’s lacrosse and both men’s and women’s tennis programs. Three programs—women’s basketball, men’s golf and women’s tennis—have achieved perfect GSR scores in each of the past seven years. Women’s lacrosse has matched that feat in six straight years, while men’s tennis has built its own streak of three years. Women’s bowling earned its 100 for its first year of varsity participation. Sixty-three student-athletes received their Vanderbilt degrees this past May, following a school year that saw more than 200 Commodores honored on the SEC’s four academic honor rolls (fall, winter, spring and freshmen).
schools in the country whose baseball and basketball teams made their respective 2011 NCAA Tournaments and whose football team was bowl-eligible this fall, including Vanderbilt and Georgia.
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seniors on the Commodores’ 2011 football roster that saw action in the 2008 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl—all of whom contributed to that win as true freshmen or redshirt-freshmen.
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career interceptions for defensive back Casey Hayward— the SEC’s active career leader in the category—who earned Walter Camp Football Foundation AllAmerica honors at the end of the regular season.
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total points for Jeffery Taylor and Jasmine Lister—30 apiece—on Dec. 7 in a pair of road victories for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
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career points for senior lacrosse captain and two-time first-team All-American Ally Carey.
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strokes, a five-day total of five-over par, for former Commodore women’s golfer Jacqui Concolino, who last month earned Category 11 membership on the 2012 LPGA Tour.
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rushing yards for junior Zac Stacy during the 2011 regular season, breaking a 20-year-old school record.
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My Game The daughter of two teaching professionals, Chelsea Preeg grew up on the tennis courts of Naples, Fla. The senior rose all the way to No. 1 in the Girls 18s rankings as a prep star at Seacrest Country Day School. A human and organizational development major, Preeg and the Commodore women’s tennis team will open the 2012 spring season on Jan. 14 against Miami (Ohio). On her tennis-rich childhood: “Whenever I was old enough to hold a racket, I was out there. My parents always brought us to the courts when we were younger. They are both tennis pros, so I grew up around the courts. I remember playing in between their lessons. It was fun. I always loved hitting. My sister played, too, so I’d always play with her. It was a family thing.” On pre-match superstitions: “I don’t think I have any specific ones, but if we have two duals in one weekend, I might do things the same way I’d done them the previous day if I won. Maybe just keep a necklace on or something like that.” On her routine between points: “I guess I do the same thing: bouncing the ball the same number of times or taking the same amount of time in between points. But it’s not something I think about. A lot of girls, if they win the point, they want that same ball to play the next point.” On an ideal doubles partner: “I’d have to say Venus or Serena [Williams]. They’re so aggressive and they’ve done so much in doubles. I think it would be fun to play with them and see how aggressive they are. If I had to pick one, I’d go with Serena. She’s more intense.” On her course of study at VU: “I am majoring in Medicine, Health and Society because I wanted to stay in healthcare, but not do medicine. I wanted to stay on the business side of medicine. I am looking for jobs now in healthcare management or administration.” On her college experience: “My experience at Vanderbilt has been extremely beneficial to my life. I have grown so much from being at this school and learning how to balance tennis and school while still being able to have a social life.” On her hidden talent: “I can juggle, I guess that’s a talent.”
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Chelsea
Preeg
JOE HOWELL
On the 2012 season: “I think I’m most excited to get into the actual season and start working toward all of the goals we have set as a team. We have been working extremely hard this fall and I’m hoping it will pay off in the spring. The team has been getting along so well this year that I think this is going to be a great season.” n
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building a CHAMPION By David L. Hudson Jr.
Cross country success highlights progress made across the board for VU’s athletic programs.
Head Coach Steven Keith
Head Coach Steven Keith and assistant Rhonda Riley have transformed the women’s cross country team into the champion of the Southeastern Conference. Other Commodore teams are showing similar improvement thanks to a talented core of coaches that are building championship programs.
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JOE HOWELL
Assistant Coach Rhonda Riley
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BUILDING A CHAMPION John Williamson was finishing his second year as Vanderbilt baseball’s director of operations when he was unexpectedly tapped to become Vanderbilt’s first bowling coach. He had a football-baseball background and had watched Tim Corbin work at close range. He knew Vanderbilt and NCAA rules. However, he was not a bowling insider—a weekend bowler at best— and he was appointed on Labor Day needing to compete that season so there was no chance to recruit. His first team, using former club team bowlers, went 12-69. He realized recruiting was going to be critical to the program’s success and he hit it hard, selling Vanderbilt’s world class education, Nashville and his big dream. His first recruiting target was Karen Grygiel of Brick, N.J., whom he learned about from a tip after it was announced Vanderbilt was going to sponsor a bowling program. She committed on Christmas Eve with her family thinking she was taking a big chance on a fledgling program. After a strong varsity career, Grygiel
is now head coach at Monmouth College. Williamson was forced to scour the internet due to time and resources and there he discovered Tara Kane, a Pennsylvania state champion with excellent grades who wasn’t planning to bowl in college. He persuaded her to rethink her future and she became a two-time, third team All-American as well as a Dean’s List member. He recruited prep All-American Michelle Peloquin of Enfield, Conn., hard but when signing day came and went without her signature, he assumed she had opted to bowl for nearby Sacred Heart, where her father happened to be the assistant coach. Two weeks after signing day he was astounded to learn the Peloquin family had been debating the topic and had come to the conclusion that not going to Vanderbilt was the gamble. Peloquin would become a twotime first-team All-American. A year later, Williamson landed the nation’s No. 1 high school bowler in Josie Earnest, another major coup as Earnest would go on to become a two-time NCAA Player of the Year and lead the team to the school’s first NCAA championship in 2007.
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e came, he saw and he did not conquer. Instead, he slowly but steadily built a program, developing that squad into a national contender. In the Southeastern Conference, his team finished eighth in his second year, then moved to sixth and then to third, before claiming the SEC championship this year. In the NCAA regionals, the team steadily moved from 11th all the way to second. Capping off what he termed a “magical season,” the Vanderbilt women’s cross country team finished sixth nationally this fall. Make no mistake, Steven Keith’s women’s cross country team at Vanderbilt now appears to be a national power. “We had a steady flow of four to five recruits a year,” he recalls. “We were trying to raise the level of each class every year and then work on developing those kids. You can recruit all you want, but you must develop your talent.” The recruiting process was slow. “We were not getting blue chip recruits those first couple of years,” he admits, relying on a healthy dose of walk-on athletes. A head coach needs a solid assistant coach. Keith credits his assistant coach, Rhonda Riley, with having an indelible impact on the program. “My first year I had 27 women and 10 men and not even a single assistant coach,” he remembers. Keith and Riley formed a bond and worked toward a common goal of getting better athletes and moving the program forward. “I enjoy the recruiting process and Rhonda Riley loves it,” Keith says. “It was a little bit of an adjustment at first, as I never had an assistant before, but we’ve really fit well as far as complementing each other.” Over the years Keith and Riley have upgraded the talent level of the program. They both say that Vanderbilt is an easy sell with its academic reputation and outstanding athletic opportunities. “We look for the same type of kid,” acknowledges Keith, who ran cross-country when he was a student at Vanderbilt. “We want someone who has a genuine desire to obtain a Vanderbilt education and the goal to compete at the highest level academically.” Riley agrees: “Vanderbilt is an easy sell for me. It is in an amazing conference with great competition. We are top-17 nationally academically. We preach balance and enjoying yourself. We also have a tremendous support staff and Nashville is a great city.” Recruiting is not the only tool to success. A team must have a leader and Keith fits the bill with his unique perspective. A former philosophy major at Vanderbilt—where he graduated in 1981—Keith believes strongly in balance, something he learned in part from his high school soccer coach in St. Louis, Ray Beckham. “He was a unique guy,” Keith recalls. “He was in the Soccer Hall of Fame and the Firefighters’ Hall of Fame in St. Louis. He told us to work hard but enjoy ourselves too. His whole demeanor was to try to do your best but not get so stressed that it rules your life.”
Alexa Rogers, Liz Anderson, Louise Hannallah and Jordan White were the Commodores’ top four finishers in their final three races of the season.
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BUILDING A CHAMPION Greg Allen knows something about putting on big golf events. Prior to becoming a collegiate coach, he spent five years as the Director of Tournament Operations for the American Junior Golf Association, where he ran a total of 47 national junior golf tournaments. He also knows the positive impact that hosting such a high-profile event can have on a golf program. And that’s why Allen is so excited that the Vanderbilt Legends Club will play host to the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships this May. “I know for that one week in May, everybody that has any interest in women’s golf is going to be focused on the Vanderbilt Legends Club and Vanderbilt University as the host,” Allen said. “It sends a nice message that we have a great enough facility that the NCAA would be willing to host our national championship on our home golf course. We know that our facilities are first class. For the NCAA to back that up by letting us host, that is a big deal.”
There is no doubt that the Vanderbilt Legends Club is ready to host such a “bigdeal” event. The site already holds the Mason Rudolph Championships each fall, which annually features one of the most impressive fields in the nation. Allen is hopeful that his Commodore squad will be equally ready for the spotlight of playing at home. He believes the Commodores will be able to pick up where they left off this past fall. The team finished second at the illustrious Stanford Intercollegiate in mid-October before coming in sixth among another top field at the Mercedes Benz SEC/Pac 12 Challenge. The Commodores have advanced to nationals in each of the past two seasons, finishing 10th last season in Bryan, Texas. Still, qualifying to be one of the 24 teams that make the national championship field is never an easy task. “The biggest thing for us in the spring is obviously making it through regionals,” Allen said. “You don’t get to play on your home golf course for a national championship if you have a down week at regionals.”
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“I believe in balance,” Keith says. “I see my role in part as providing some comic relief and holding back the reins so the girls don’t overtrain. I want them to channel their energies in the right way. It works well if you keep it all in balance.” “He’s a great guy, a father figure to everyone,” Riley says. “He’s very relaxed and brings personality, telling lots of jokes. The girls benefit from the fact that he’s not too intense.” A REMARKABLE SEASON It came together for Keith, Riley and the student-athletes this year. “For the first three years, Rhonda and I looked at each other at times and wondered when is it going to come together,” he explains. “We hadn’t quite gotten the depth that we needed. But, this past season was the first time that we had four recruiting classes together.” Keith says that at a meet in Wisconsin in the middle of October, the team showed it could compete at the highest levels of the sport. “We achieved a level of performance and accomplishment that no one thought we could,” he says. “We were considered a borderline top-30 team, but we finished second out of 44 teams at that meet. At that moment, I knew this season could be special.” Any coach will tell you he is only as good as his athletes. In cross country, you need at least five solid performers, as the team’s top five runners determine the fate of the program in terms of results. Keith and Riley had a tal-
ented squad determined to improve. They also had five top runners they could count on in Alexa Rogers, Jordan White, Louise Hannallah, Kristen Smith and Liz Anderson. All five earned All-Southeastern Conference honors. More than that, they were focused, dedicated and balanced, as all five finished within 30 seconds of each other. “We had three fourthyear girls who are best friends who would settle for nothing less than the best,” he says, referring to Rogers, White and Han- Despite missing one of their top five runners, the Commodores placed nallah. Rogers earned All- second at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. America honors, the first cross-country studentcloser to home. As a Spartan, her team won athlete from Vanderbilt to achieve that lofty two league championships. But after those honor. two years, Smith decided she wanted to fol“We had a junior transfer who we had low her initial dream of going to Vanderbilt. recruited two years earlier but went on to “We also had a talented sophomore who’s become a star in the Big 10 and an NCAA just now figuring out how good she can really qualifier,” he continues, referring to Smith, be,” Keith said, referring to Anderson, who who spent her first two seasons at Michi- joined the team a year before as a freshman gan State. Out of high school, Smith nearly walk-on. Anderson missed All-America honattended Vanderbilt. She even had scholar- ors this year by mere seconds. ship papers in hand before deciding to stay But a team is more than just its top five run-
BUILDING A CHAMPION
ners. Additional depth helps push everyone to achieve at a higher level. Enter a talented freshman class. “We had a great freshman class—they are talented, goofy and entertaining.” Three of those freshmen—Grace Orders, Amira Joseph and Rebecca Chandler—earned SEC All-Freshman honors this year. “It speaks well to our future,” Keith says. Sometimes teams become individualistic and the elusive concept of chemistry does not develop. Not so for the Vanderbilt women’s cross-country team. “Chemistry is everything in cross country,” Keith says. “We try to recruit kids that have personalities that fit, but you also need diverse personalities that buy into one team goal.” The Vanderbilt team had that special blend this year. “The strength of this team is that it was a true team,” he said. “Cross country may appear to be an individual sport, but it also is so much more of a team sport than people realize. “The mix has been beautiful; the chemistry has been great,” says Keith. “Everyone had something different to offer. We really work on developing a team focus and I think it helps, particularly in the latter half of races.” The team peaked at the right moment and surprised people nationally. “I kept thinking this season was a dream season,” Keith says. “But now we want to keep reloading rather than rebuilding. [Going forward], our goals for cross country will be to win the conference and finish in the top-10 nationally.” NEW CHALLENGES
Recruiting prospective student-athletes to play collegiate baseball can be a mine field. Not only are college coaches competing against one another, they also are up against professional teams offering six- or seven-figure pay days to 17- and 18-year-olds. High school seniors sign their National Letters of Intent in November, but come the following summer they still can be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and opt to sign a professional contract. This past summer, 13 of the 14 high schoolers that were selected in the first round of the MLB Draft chose to sign pro contracts instead of enrolling in college. The only one that decided to attend college was pitcher Tyler Beede, who turned down a reported seven-figure offer sheet from the Toronto Blue Jays to play for Head Coach Tim Corbin’s Commodores. By enrolling, Beede joined an ever-growing list of elite baseball players that have picked Vanderbilt over an instant pay day. According to Corbin, it’s no accident that his staff has kept the most of its recruits.
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“We have been very fortunate to hold on to the majority of kids that we have signed,” Corbin said. “The reason is the kids we deal with. These are kids and parents that value a private-school education. They understand that the baseball window is small and that they are investing financially in themselves when they come to school. If we don’t get this impression in the recruiting process, then we stop the recruitment at that point.” The sales pitch must be getting easier for Corbin, whose track record of success now includes a College World Series appearance and a Southeastern Conference record of 12 players drafted in 2011. Corbin sees that Vanderbilt’s success in getting players into professional baseball can only help convince future prospects about another benefit of a VU education. “We are currently second in the country in developing professional players in the last six years,” Corbin said. “That development of players with the combination of the private-school education has elevated our recruiting efforts tremendously.”
There are nearly 340 Division I women’s cross country teams and only 31 advance to the NCAA championships. So finishing sixth place nationally among such an elite field would be a great accomplishment for any program. But Keith, Riley and the team hope to accomplish even more. “I would love to see the women win the whole thing,” he admits. “We want to be one of the top four teams on the podium at the end of the year.” With the accomplishments of the 2011 fall season shining brightly in the trophy case, Keith must now broaden his scope after being named director of the entire track and field program last summer. Keith—who served as the distance coach at Georgia Tech, UTEP and Alabama before returning to his alma mater—is looking forward to the challenge. “We absolutely believe that the template we have for success in cross country can be applied to track,” he says. “It may be a little more of a challenge to find the right athletes, but we have a three- to four-year plan of raising the track program.” n
David L. Hudson Jr. is a scholar at the First Amendment Center, adjunct professor at Vanderbilt Law School and the author or co-author of 33 books. See David’s books at http://www.davidlhudsonjrbooks.com
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Nine seniors make second bowl appearance (Editor’s note: The contents of this magazine were published prior to the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl; only the cover was held until after the game.)
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JOE HOWELL
john russell
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ombining the 2008 Music City Bowl appearance with this season’s trip to the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, this season’s graduating class becomes the first group of Vanderbilt players to lead the team to two bowl games in their careers. A total of nine men that took part in that Music City Bowl will have a chance to play this postseason in Memphis. The group is led by four of the squad’s five captains—fourthyear seniors Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson and redshirt-seniors Kyle Fischer and Larry Smith. Other redshirt-seniors on the list include Brandon Barden, Tim Fugger, T.J. Greenstone, Chris Marve and Udom Umoh. For Head Coach James Franklin, this outgoing senior class has played a key role in changing the culture of Vanderbilt football since his new staff arrived last December. “They’ve just been unbelievable ever since Chris Marve met me at the airport,” Franklin said. “It helped having a guy like Chris, and all the seniors, buy into what we were doing and commit to it. Having them set the tone and the example of what we looking for, that was very important. “For the most part, those guys have played significant roles this year and, really, their whole careers,” Franklin said. “And I think those kids were hungry, with the lack of success they’ve had the last couple years, to get back to some type of success, so they jumped on board very quickly.” All nine seniors played roles in the ’08 Music City Bowl. As a redshirt-freshman, Smith made the first start of his Vanderbilt career in the Commodores’ 16-14 win over Boston College. Then a true freshman safety, Richardson made the play of the game on special teams when he recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for VU’s lone touchdown. After winning only four games the past two seasons, Franklin knows that Vanderbilt’s senior class will be fired up to go out with one final victory wearing the black and gold. And he believes this group’s accomplishment of reaching mulitple bowl games will be just one of many “firsts” for the Commodores in years to come. “They have a chance to be one of three teams ever to win a bowl game here,” Franklin said. “They have a chance to be the first senior class to have not only two bowl appearances, but two bowl wins. That’s something that’s special. I talked to them about those things. That’s one of our big selling points at Vanderbilt. You have a chance to do some things that have never been done before and that’s something you can be really proud of.” n
Seniors Casey Hayward (left) and Chris Marve are two of the nine Commodores scheduled to make their second postseason appearances at the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
BUILDING A CHAMPION It only took James Franklin 12 months to turn the Commodores from a 2-10 team into a bowl-eligible squad. But the foundation for Frankin’s first-year success was laid over a lifetime of hard work and dedication to a set of very specific core principles. For Franklin, it’s all laid out in a three-ring binder that he has filled with ideals and ideas from a coaching career that began in 1995. The process of collecting his coaching philosophy into a single bound edition has helped Franklin stay organized from the beginning. “I didn’t really look at the notebook a whole lot [this season],” Franklin said. “There were some things that I looked at, but for the most part it was just the time I spent putting it together that allowed me to have a well thought out plan of how and what I was going to do when I got my shot.” Throughout his career as an assistant, Franklin has been a sponge absorbing and documenting all aspects of what it takes to build a successful program. He started
early, watching the career of Denny Douds, who has been the head coach at Franklin’s alma mater, East Stroudsburg, since 1974. “The consistency in the program with the staff and also the consistency with the message, those are probably the things that I learned from [Coach Douds],” Franklin said. “And just really investing in a community and investing in a school.” Franklin’s career has included a wide range of stops, from his beginnings as a graduate assistant at Kutztown University to a season mentoring the receiving corps catching passes from Green Bay Packer legend Brett Favre. But not all of Franklin’s learning experiences occurred on the football field. He had quite a role model at home, as well. Franklin’s mother raised he and his sister mostly on her own. “My biggest influence has been my mom,” Franklin said. “She worked very, very hard to provide for me and my sister. Her positive attitude and her work ethic were a great example to me.”
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Vice Chancellor Williams looks back at 2011 Commodore Nation sat down with Vice Chancellor David Williams in mid-December to reflect on the 2011 calendar year and look ahead to 2012. Commodore Nation: What are some of your favorite memories from 2011? David Williams: Some of our competitive successes stand out: the trip to the College World Series, the tremendous spring finishes by three women’s teams—the golfers, the bowlers and the tennis team—and our SEC champion women’s cross country team this fall. They don’t compete before large crowds, but to see them compete so hard was gratifying. Also, continuing our focus on academic success and graduation while becoming more competitive. It is a special feeling to see a kid that once was thought to have academic challenges here in a cap and gown on graduation day. Finally, watching the transformation of our football program. What was accomplished this year was essentially done by the very same kids that went 2-10 the past two years. CN: What are the primary goals for 2012? DW: One is to continue to change the culture around football. There are a lot of factors, but we are in a position for major facility enhancements; they are very exciting and pave the way for future successes.
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We always want to continue to do what we have always done well—the all-around student-athlete experience and winning both ways. CN: How big a role will fund-raising play? DW: Our fund-raising challenges are huge; that success will be the bedrock of our future. We have the green light to do important things but need revenue to do them. Fortunately our university recognizes this, has given us more assistance and perhaps even looks at us in a different light. This is a crucial area. CN: What was your biggest surprise in 2011? DW: Twelve months ago if you had told me we’d go to the College World Series I would not have been surprised. If you told me we’d be in a bowl game I wouldn’t have been shocked. That we’d win the SEC cross country championship, I’d say yes. But if you had asked if we’d be in a position to already have announced plans for a multi-purpose facility, I would have said absolutely no way this year. Someday, absolutely, but not 2011. CN: Since you began athletic oversight in 2003, what has pleased you the most? DW: The most pleasing thing to me, here in 2011, is that most of the people we began with back in 2003 are still with us. We haven’t had very many people leave and, for the most part, the ones that did went on to more responsibilities. Those who were here nine years ago pulled up their sleeves and realized we could be better than we were. Nobody complained, they just got it done. Being more competitive is nice, our academics and integrity are still solid, but making the progress with the same team of people is very pleasing. n
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In advance of next month’s National Signing Day, Coach Franklin sat down with Commodore Nation to lay out five of the things he and his staff evaluate in each prospective student-athlete....
1
“Character, integrity and work ethic are the things that I think are the most important in really determining how far you can go.”
2
“There are a lot of different traits you’re looking for—height, weight, speed and quickness—in terms of physical skills.”
3
“How important is football? I think you have to be careful, to be honest, at a place like Vanderbilt, because you could get kids that are just coming here for the academic experience. You have to make sure you get kids here that love academics and want to have an unbelievable experience, but also are passionate about the game of football. They have to have both. A kid’s passion and love for the game is very important.”
4
“Looking at each class as a whole, you need some guys that you had to recruit and convince that this was the best place for them, but you better have a group of guys that are excited and passionate about coming to Vanderbilt and truly believe in what we’re doing here. That’s really what we’ve got going on right now, and I think that’s very, very important.”
5
“You want to have some flexibility. You don’t want to recruit guys that can only do [one thing]. Lafonte Thourogood is a perfect example. We knew that if he could be a quarterback we had a chance to have a really special one; but if he couldn’t, if he comes in and wants to move to running back, he’s got a chance to be good there as well. Recruiting those type of athletes that have that flexibility— those guys allow you to reduce the mistakes that you’ll make.” n
5FRANKLIN WITH...
March 18 and 20, 2012 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tenn.
For tickets, visit vucommodores.com or call 615/322-GOLD
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It’s My Turn
experience
by Rod Williamson
THE
“New Vandy” not overnight hit
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
N
JANUARY CONCERTS
RETURNS JAN. 5-7
JAN. 12-14
SUNTRUST CLASSICAL SERIES
BANK OF AMERICA POPS SERIES
BRANFORD MARSALIS DUO & QUARTET concert presented without orchestra
JAN. 20
JAZZ SERIES
Kenny Rogers performing with the Nashville Symphony
JAN. 21
OHLSSON PLAYS
JAN. 26-28
SPECIAL EVENT
CHOP N SUNTRUST CLASSICAL SERIES
BUY TICKETS AT NashvilleSymphony.org 615.687.6400
With support from:
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ashville’s country music lore loves tales of singers that rode into Music City with little more than big dreams and struck gold on 16th Avenue. Randy Travis was working in a restaurant one day and topping the charts the next. Or so the legend claims. We like to think these artists were overnight successes; in a lonesome bar they jotted lyrics on a napkin, recorded the next day and sold a million records in a month. Instant celebrity! The truth is that success doesn’t work that way in show business or, for that matter, in life. Best-selling author Malcomb Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at anything, so many of our “overnight sensations” must have already logged 9,992 hours behind the scenes. This is especially the case in athletics, where developing championship caliber teams is much more a marathon than a sprint. There are very few overnight success stories in college sports and those that might make that claim are often subject to an NCAA investigation. Quality programs are like fines wines: they need time to cure. This issue of Commodore Nation addresses several Vanderbilt teams that might seem to have gotten very good overnight, but these stories reveal that assumption is far from the truth. A couple of years ago, what outsider could have predicted our women’s cross country team would win the Southeastern Conference championship this fall in blowout fashion? Just like these diminutive runners who excelled at coming from behind, the program gradually evolved into a winner. Not long ago its goal was to avoid the cellar; then with savvy recruiting, new talent pushed the team into the SEC’s mid-range, then into third and finally, first! Did our cross country coaches suddenly get smart? Steven Keith deserved his SEC Coach of the Year award this season, but assembling the roster over the last four or five years was where the race was won. It’s a similar story in every other successful program on our campus. We like to think the nation’s best prep baseball talent automatically flocks to Hawkins Field, but our baseball staff has many stories of recruiting disappointments as it gradually moved the talent bar higher and higher. Our bowlers traditionally land the country’s best high school talent, but once upon a time when the program was in its infancy, the finest student-athletes considered coming to the fledgling program a big risk. A few years ago new men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage inherited a roster of just four scholarship student-athletes. Needing a minimum of six to compete in a match, the team’s motto was a modest “Six or Nix.” Through hard work and excellent salesmanship, Duvenhage’s current freshmen class was judged the nation’s best by a major tennis publication. And so it goes in this department. There is a quiet but steady momentum that is often totally undetected on internet blogs, sports talk radio and those few surviving newspaper columns. On the whole, sports media is forced to practice “pack journalism”—where like a pack of hounds, as one thinks they all tend to think. It’s not necessarily their fault. Who could be informed to every small success in athletics? Often the only people realizing what is coming down the pipeline are the insiders. With the privilege of such a look, if future program success were stocks on the Dow we could offer you some profitable tips. We could have forecast the rise of these programs, and there are more success stories on the way. It’s a bull market on West End. Just don’t believe it is happening overnight. n
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W W W. O S H i F L O W E R S .CO M WWW.MYDORMFLOWERS.COM The Foot of the Capitol - 615.254.6744 206 Capitol Blvd. Nashville, TN 37219
The Pinnacle at Symphony Place - 615.259.0444 150 Third Ave. South (Main Lobby) Nashville, TN 37201
Direct to Perri (OSHi) 615.972.5425
DAILY DELIVERIES WORLDWIDE: FLORAL
DÉCOR STUDIO
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FLORAL DESIGN UPWARD OF $100
NEW YEAR’S
20 1 2 RESOLUTIONS ALEXA ROGERS
Senior—Cross Country
My new year’s resolution is to apply the saying, “Seek first to understand.” People act the way they do for a reason; there is always an underlying force that drives their behavior. So instead of getting angry or taking things personally I want to try and understand another person’s behavior and understand why they might be acting the way they do. Once I understand why, then there is an opportunity to grow with and learn about that person.
ERIKA DEARDORF
Junior—Swimming
2012 LACROSSE SCHEDULE 2/12
DUKE
NASHVILLE
2/26
at North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.
1 p.m.
3/3
at Stanford
Palo Alto, Calif.
3/7
Boston College
NASHVILLE
12 p.m.
3/11
at Canisius
Buffalo, N.Y.
11 a.m.
3/14
Louisville
NASHVILLE
3 p.m.
3/18
* Penn State
NASHVILLE
1 p.m.
3/23
* at Northwestern
Evanston, Ill.
3 p.m.
3/28
at New Hampshire
Durham, N.H.
4/1
* Johns Hopkins
NASHVILLE
12 p.m.
4/4
Presbyterian
NASHVILLE
2 p.m.
4/8
* Ohio State
NASHVILLE
1 p.m.
4/14
* at Florida
Gainesville, Fla.
11 a.m.
4/18
at Notre Dame
South Bend, Ind.
1 p.m.
4/22
Jacksonville
NASHVILLE
1 p.m.
12 p.m. 3 p.m.
11:30 a.m.
All times are central (CT) and subject to change. * denotes American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) game. The 2012 ALC Tournament will be May 3-5 in Gainesville, Fla. The 2012 NCAA Championship will be May 27 and 29 in Stony Brook, N.Y.
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My new year’s resolution is to do a better job of keeping my life in balance. It is so easy to concentrate on one aspect of life and overlook the importance of working on the other areas. This is something I constantly stuggle with. Hopefully in 2012, I will have a better sense of self-awareness to know when I need to step back and focus on other things.
TREY DelGRECO
Senior—GOLF
My new year’s resolution is to get more sleep. I’m often tired and sometimes that hinders my athletic and academic performance. More sleep makes me better at life!
MAGGIE MORRISON
Freshman—Basketball
My new year’s resolution is to stay in my circle of influence and out of my circle of concern. I will do this by not letting things I can’t control bother me.
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STEVE GREEN / VU PHOTOGRAPHY
last shots
V
anderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hosted its annual holiday party for the children of Ross Elementary School on Dec. 9 inside the practice gym at Memorial Gymnasium. Sophomore offensive lineman Mylon Brown played Santa Claus, with senior defensive lineman T.J. Greenstone reprising his role as Santa’s elf. The duo read The Night Before Christmas to the assembled children before teams broke out and gave each child gifts.
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