2008 S EAS O N PR EVI EW
NEW LOOK, NEW ATTITUDE
September 2008
table of contents 6
2 Connecting With The Web 4 National Commodore Club 6 In My Words Reshard Langford
7 Commodores Cubed Know your Commodores
8 Point of View Thomas Davis
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9 Additional Web Site Launched Site centers around marketing campaign
11 Coaches’ Corner Ronnie Coveleskie previews the season
13 It’s My Turn — Rod Williamson Hall of Fame Weekend
14 VU Establishes Hall of Fame The inaugural class has 12 inductees
16 2008 Football Preview Commodores look to break through
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20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams
21 Connecting ’Dores with Jobs Program links past and present ’Dores
23 VU Football’s Top 10 Wins Rank VU’s top 10 wins of the modern era
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Connect with
VUCOMMODORES.COM Editorial Publisher: Vanderbilt University Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz Director of Communications: Rod Williamson Designers: Jeremy Teaford Ryan Schulz
Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner Photographers: Rich Arden
It’s Good To Be Gold Get to know the student-athletes off the field by visiting Vanderbilt’s newest addition online — www.itsgoodtobegold.com. The site features videos of student-athletes talking about anything from their families to the number they wear.
Joe Fisher’s Daily Update
Neil Brake Daniel Dubois Marvin Gentry
Listen to what the Voice of the Commodores has to say about Vanderbilt on a daily basis. Fisher’s Vanderbilt updates on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone are archived daily.
Steve Green Mason Hensley Paul J. Levy John Russell
Contributors: Andy Boggs Thomas Davis John Erck Larry Leathers Thomas Samuel Chris Weinman
Administrative Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II
Facilities Upgrade Central Get a closer look at Vanderbilt’s $55 million renovation project by viewing renderings and photos, watching video of the construction and listening to the facilities press conference.
Hall of Fame You’ve seen the names of the inductees, now learn more about them by reading their bios. You can also watch the video of the Hall of Fame press conference.
Interim Vice Chancellor
for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune 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 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: Bradley Vierling, Reshard Langford, D.J. Moore and George Smith (Photo by John Russell)
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Podcasts
Purchase Tickets
Download archived audio files to your computer or media device. Audio files available for download include postgame interviews, weekly press conferences, Joe Fisher’s daily updates and weekly radio interviews.
Football season is here, and basketball season is quickly approaching. VUCommodores.com is your source for purchasing season tickets, which start at just $99 for football.
SEPTEMBER 2008
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322-4114. ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports. Jeff Miller, General Manager 615/322-4468 jmiller@ispsports.com
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C O M M O D O R E C LU B
CORNE R
PHONE: 615/322-4114 vucommodores.com
Continuing The Momentum
2007-08 NCC MEMBERSHIP
By Jeff Ulmer NCC Executive Director Fiscal year 2007-08 was a good year for National Commodore Club giving. In spite of the shaky economy, Commodore fans answered the call by giving generously to the NCC. The upward trajectory we are seeing in financial support is encouraging, but the challenge to sustain and grow the NCC is becoming increasingly crucial to the success of our varsity sports programs. Anyone who has visited Dudley Field in the past month or so knows that construction is under way to improve the aesthetics and amenities for our fans this coming season. But as the NCC staff continues to visit with alumni and fans to engage their support of these initiatives, many of those NCC dollars are simply being replaced with capital gifts. So the challenge is to find new sources of private support for the NCC, increasing annual participation and working to secure larger NCC gifts while continuing to secure new partnerships for our capital projects and scholarships. NCC gifts go directly toward the cost of tuition, room and board for our studentathletes while endowment gifts are invested to provide annual spendable dollars in perpetuity. Capital gifts go directly to offset the cost of construction – and all are extremely important to the long-term viability of our varsity sports programs. So when you are considering making your gift to support the Commodores, please remember to support the NCC separately, then I hope you will consider making a second gift to support the facilities and endowment campaigns. Your investments mean so much to our student-athletes.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT For the second straight year, the National Commodore Club surpassed its annual fundraising goal. Because of your gifts, the NCC was able to raise more than $2.89 million from its 2,986 members. The $2.89 million is the largest figure since 2000, and membership is at its highest since 2001. Thank you for your support of the National Commodore Club! $3,500,000
NCC FUNDRAISING TOTALS
$3,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,000,000 Amount Raised
$500,000 $2004
2005 2006 Fiscal Year (Ending June 30)
3500
NCC TOTAL MEMBERS
3000 2500 2000 1500 Members
1000 500 0 2004
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SEPTEMBER 2008
2007
2005 2006 2007 Fiscal Year (Ending June 30)
2008
2008
CHICAGO
CHATTANOOGA
More than 150 Commodore alumni and fans attended an event at the Union League Club in Chicago to see former ’Dores, and current Chicago Bears, Hunter Hillenmeyer and Chris Williams.
Priscilla and Winston Caine hosted an event for about 50 alumni and NCC members at their home in June.
Chris Williams signs an autograph for a Vanderbilt hopeful.
Charlie Hon, Bill Colvin, Greg McGuire, Grady Wade and David Turner.
Peter and Christine Mortimer won the grand prize – a Vanderbilt helmet signed by Hillenmeyer and Williams.
Priscilla Caine, Winston Caine, Ted Cain, Adam Caine, and Bobby Johnson pose on the deck at the Caines’ home on Signal Mountain.
Alison Hayden poses with Hunter Hillenmeyer after winning an autographed football.
Melanie Balcomb, Kandy and Marvin Berke.
JOIN THE NCC OR RENEW TODAY You should have recently received your membership renewal for the National Commodore Club. Please mail it in, call 615/322-4114, click vucommodores.com or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt Athletics. Your Membership Matters!
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In My Words
Reshard Langford
egarded as one of the hardest hitters in the SEC, senior safety Reshard Langford is known on the field for his mean streak and bone-jarring hits. However, to many children in East Nashville, the Tanner, Ala., native is known much more for his work as a mentor than his play on the field. For the third year in a row, Langford spent much of his summer mentoring kids at the Martha O’Bryan Center, a Christian outreach ministry in East Nashville that helps underprivileged children. In addition to being a leader in the community, Langford also is a leader in the locker room, where he was voted the defensive captain for 2008. A three-year starter, Langford was a preseason third team All-SEC selection by the league’s head coaches. He also is expected to graduate in December with a degree in sociology.
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On working at the Martha O’Bryan Center It’s been a good experience going down there and working with the kids. I love working with kids. I just enjoy shedding knowledge on the kids and passing along things that I’ve learned growing up. On why he wears number 33 I’m a Christian, and I believe in the Lord. I chose 33 because Jesus died on the cross at the age of 33. On the importance of his faith Faith is a real big part of my life. I grew up around the church. I never really understood it until I got older and matured. I’m just blessed. On being a captain in 2008 It is an honor that so many of my teammates had faith in me to vote for me as a captain. It has been great having the responsibility of trying to lead the team. There has been a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, knowing that I can’t slack and let off on anything because so many people watch me, and I don’t want to let them down.
For his intimidating pose in photos I don’t know where I got that (look). I guess I got it from being out (on the football field) because I have to look intimidating on the field. Looks are a part of it. If I were smiling all the time, people wouldn’t be scared to come across the middle. It is just a part of me being on defense.
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SEPTEMBER 2008
JOHN RUSSELL
On being a role model to kids in his hometown of Tanner, Ala. I haven’t gotten to go back a lot since coming to Vanderbilt, but when I do go back, I talk to the kids and I try to let them know that they can do it. I also try to make sure that they put school first because my parents stayed on me to do it. It’s worked out so far, and hopefully I can pass everything on.
On his passion for electronics I’ve been into electronics for a long time. I was always trying to figure things out when I was younger. I remember when I was a little kid hooking up speakers from my entertainment center to the TV in my room. Now that I’ve gotten older, I get on the computer and research the latest electronics. I don’t have an iPod, so I incorporate my music by putting it on my phone. On going to watch “The Dark Knight” at 3:10 a.m. on opening night I just like going to movies because it is something else to do. I like Batman. I don’t really like Superman because it is unrealistic, but Batman is more realistic. Going to movies keeps me out of trouble, and I’m really happy where I am. On Vanderbilt returning its entire starting secondary It’s a lot easier for us on the field because we can focus on a lot more of the smaller things, such as seeing routes and working on balance. Already knowing the defense has helped us out a lot. Just working together, we understand each other, so we don’t have to say a lot. We say one word and everyone knows what is going on. On his nickname “Scud” I got the nickname my freshman year when we were playing 7-on-7 my first summer after high school. I was learning the defense and I came down and didn’t see (former tight end) Jonathan Loyte. I hit him coming out of the post and (former wide receiver) Chris Young gave me the nickname Scud because he said I was fast like a missile and hit hard. I like the nickname and that is what everybody calls me now. ■
Commodores Cubed
broderick STEWART
ben KLAUS
megan FORESTER
adrienne DiRADDO
Football
Golf
Soccer
Cross Country
Least favorite animal
Cats
Geese
Birds
Eels
________ should play me on the big screen
Ari Gold from Entourage
Will Ferrell
Jennifer Lopez
Natalie Portman or Mila Kunis
Most it has cost me to fill up my car’s gas tank
$97
$105
$63
$68
Favorite movie villain
Joker
Javier Bardem in “No Country For Old Men”
Joker. Heath Ledger did an amazing job in “The Dark Knight.”
Mugatu from “Zoolander”
Superpower I’d most like to have
I’d like to be able to control time
Flying
Superspeed
Flying
I went on vacation to ___________ this summer
Jamaica
San Diego
New York City
Galveston, Texas
Anything with curry
BBQ
Italian
Italian ... of course
Brett Favre
Chad Johnson
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Lindsay Lohan
Favorite type of food
PAUL J. LEVY (ACTION)
Celebrity that needs to stay out of the news
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Point of View
By Thomas Davis Editor’s Note: Each month “Commodore Nation” will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal interest. A junior on the cross country team, Davis is majoring in biomedical engineering. One of Davis’ many goals is to improve health care in Mexico. or nearly the fi rst fi ve years of my life, I was a Mexican, not a political citizen but a cultural citizen. While living in Chihuahua, I developed a fervent love for everything Mexican, but at the same time, my young eyes could not help but fi xate on the generational poverty that saturates Mexican society. Undoubtedly, poverty is a chronic social illness with a vast, intertwined root system. Despite poverty’s burdensome complexity, Nobel laureate and Vanderbilt graduate Muhammad Yunus identifi es the exorbitant cost of health care as the single greatest force that shackles the citizens of his native Bangladesh to poverty. Certainly, the situation in most of the world is not much different. Fifteen years ago when I lived in Mexico, the lack of access to resources was the greatest obstacle to providing affordable and adequate health care. In my city of one million, there were no ventilators. If you were to break your leg playing soccer as a friend did, your family had to go to the store to buy the parts necessary for the surgical repair. Apparently, not much has changed. When I asked a doctor whom I met while living in Aguascalientes this summer to name the greatest challenge to Mexican health care, he had a definitive answer: resources. Fortunately, Muhammad Yunus’s newest book Creating a World without Poverty precipitates a new form of business—a social business. As explained by Yunus, a social business can be defined in one of two ways. One model defines a social business as a non-loss, non-dividend business. The other model is a profi t-maximizing business that is owned by the poor. In either case, the self-sustaining nature allows a social business to escape the charity dependence of most nonprofits. Instead, any profi ts are reinvested in order to expand the social reach of the business. While Yunus’s proposal likely will be an influential component in improving medical care, there is a systemic level of corruption that permeates Mexican politics, which effectively softens and often thwarts any attempt to increase access to medical resources. Unfortunately, this corruption is so prevalent in Mexican culture that corruption is opaquely factored into the cost of a product. This corruption exists in many forms, such as artifi cially infl ated prices for originally donated medical supplies and resources that mysteriously disappear. As a way to work around the endemic corruption, I will be returning to Aguascalientes next summer to work with the Mexican Red Cross. As a volunteer emergency medical technician, I plan to identify and implement protocol changes that can improve the quality of pre-hospital care. Unlike the often ineffi cient importation of donated goods, the putrid pockets of government will struggle to regulate the importation of ideas. At the same time, I hope to address opportunities for designing more affordable medical supplies using a social business model that can capitalize on Mexico’s local infrastructure. Like Yunus, I am committed to creating resilient solutions that can traverse the sharp roadblocks that too easily defl ate the wheels of optimism. Even when this vehicle for creating a world without poverty will inevitably face a slowdown, I know I can count on the admirable and unending source of hope of my Mexican neighbors to get out and push their country towards more accessible and modern health care. ■
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NUMBERS $10,000,000 Vanderbilt Launches Additional Web Site ave you taken a drive around Nashville lately? If so, there is a good chance you’ve noticed Vanderbilt’s new billboards promoting the department’s marketing campaign, “It’s Good To Be Gold.” While the slogan, ‘It’s Good To Be Gold,’ is certainly nothing new to Vanderbilt fans, it won’t take you long to notice that there is something different about this year’s campaign. The cornerstone of what makes this campaign unique is the creation of an additional athletics Web site, itsgoodtobegold.com. “We’ve had a positive reaction to the It’s Good To Be Gold campaign over the last few years,” Vanderbilt’s director of online services Brandon Barca said. “We launched the site because we wanted to find ways to extend the brand globally.” The Web site, which was designed by Row27 Studios and launched in August, is unlike most any other athletics site. Instead of statistics and breaking news, the site features exclusive video interviews that provide an inside look at Vanderbilt studentathletes. Each interview spotlights the personalities and life histories of the student-athletes. “We want to better acquaint the Vanderbilt sports fans with our tremendous student-athletes,” Rod Williamson, Vanderbilt’s director of external relations, said. “We have always
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been proud of our Commodores, and now we have new ways to help us show others just how special they are. Vanderbilt athletes have unique challenges in that they compete in top 20 classrooms and in their sport against the nation’s best athletes. Some of their interviews are funny, others are inspiring and all of them are interesting.” Among the student-athletes that are featured on the site are Rita Jorgensen (cross country), Katie Schulz (soccer), George Smith (football) and A.J. Ogilvy (basketball), to name a few. “You usually see these stars performing on the field in front of packed crowds, but the Web site gives you a chance to see them behind the spotlight,” Barca said. In addition to the Web site, a new logo and an “It’s Good To Be Gold” poster have been created. The poster, which is also on the Web site, features one student-athlete from all 15 varsity sports. What makes the poster unique is that each student-athlete in the picture is dressed in his or her game attire, complete with grass stains, dirt and sweat. To capture the appearance of how the players would look after competing, Vanderbilt brought in a makeup artist and staged a 12-hour photo shoot last spring. “Overall, the campaign is a shining example of why It’s Good to be Gold,” Barca said. ■
COMPLIANCE
CORN E R Q:
Cover Two is a non-recruited football student-athlete at Valley College, a Division III institution. Cover has decided to transfer to Vanderbilt for his sophomore year. Can he compete for Vanderbilt for the fall semester?
A:
Yes. Cover meets the conditions of NCAA Bylaw 14.5.5.2.10, which is the One Time Transfer Exception. It states that an eligible student is someone who is a participant in a sport other than baseball, basketball, bowl subdivision football or men’s ice hockey, has not transferred previously from one four-year institution, is in good academic standing and meets the progress-toward-degree requirements.
vucommodores.com
George Midgett Compliance Coordinator 615/322-2083 george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu
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Members of Vanderbilt’s football team have posted marks of 300 pounds or more in the hang clean.
1
The number of former Vanderbilt student-athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Casey Weathers). Weathers (baseball) is the first Vanderbilt student-athlete to compete in the Olympics since Jeff Turner in 1984 (basketball).
15
Former Vanderbilt football players were on NFL rosters when training camps opened at the end of July.
9.2
Innings pitched by Mike Minor in the USA Baseball National Team’s 1-0 win in 12 innings over Japan in the gold medal game of the FISU World Championships.
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Freshman team strength records set by running back Ryan van Rensburg last year in the bench press (420 lbs.) and hang clean (355 lbs.)
$6,000,000
Compliance questions? Please contact: Candice Storey Director of Compliance 615/322-7992 candice.storey@vanderbilt.edu
The amount that former Vanderbilt offensive tackle Chris Williams received with his signing bonus from the Chicago Bears.
John Peach Compliance Coordinator 615/343-1060 john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu
The amount that former Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez received with his signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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COACHES’
COR NER Ronnie Coveleskie Head Soccer Coach Coveleskie is in her eighth season as the head soccer coach at Vanderbilt. Before last year, she had led VU to consecutive NCAA Tournament trips for the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons. You lost just five letterwinners from a year ago, how exciting is it to have so much talent coming back? We are very excited for this year. We still feel like we are a very young team, so we are still going to go through our fair share of learning experiences during matches. However, I think that our talent level is young and enthusiastic. What do you think will be the greatest improvement from last season to this one? I think we are still going to be young and enthusiastic, but I think we have matured as a group. Our work in the weight room and our commitment to our fitness level has increased. I think we’ve adjusted to the speed of play in the college game, and I think that our mentality, that we built in the spring and have continued to build, is really going to help us compete in matches. I think the most important part is that our inexperienced, young players have now gained a mental edge. Molly Kinsella led the team in scoring last year, what should we expect this year? I think Molly Kinsella is a fabulous player. You can see Molly turning into our go-to player on our field this year. She is the fittest player on the team. She is by far the most competitive player on our team. When you step on the field, you are going to notice Molly Kinsella right away because she makes an impact every single time she is on the field. How hungry is the team after missing the NCAA Tournament last year? Although we were disappointed with our results last year, I continue to think about how much we learned and how much stronger it is going to make us as individual players and as a team. The one thing that we have that will solidify us as a group is that we know that we don’t want to be back in that position again. We are all motivated to make sure that we don’t dwell on the past and that we focus on the present and future and reestablishing Vanderbilt soccer. ■
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SEPTEMBER 2008
It’s My Turn By Rod Williamson
Hall of Fame Weekend oaches warn their players to not look past the next game but excuse some of us non-playing Commodores for peeking ahead to the weekend of Sept. 12–13. We are playing host to Rice that Saturday evening for what has been designated Hall of Fame Weekend on our campus. We just can’t wait for the celebration to begin. By now you probably are well aware of our inaugural Hall of Fame class of 12 former student-athletes, administrators and civic achievers. We couldn’t be more proud, and judging from the comprehensive news coverage our announcement generated last June, the community also recognizes its historic significance. We have an exciting weekend planned for our inductees that includes a series of luncheons, dinners and introductions. The crown jewel of the weekend is the Hall of Fame Banquet, which will draw a capacity crowd of about 500 Friday night to the Student Life Center to celebrate with our heroes and heroines. As this issue goes to print, our process of identifying Hall of Fame Banquet sponsors and the sale of tables has gone well and is nearing its conclusion. We expect to have a “sold out” sign hanging up before we get to the big night. Launching a Hall of Fame is an exciting but time-consuming project. We announced the creation of this program late in 2007 and received public nominations for several months, collecting well over 100 in the process. Gathering the names was easier than whittling them down to 12 because there were simply so many worthy candidates. Our senior administrative team served as the selection committee this year, in part because we wanted to be sure that this class properly reflected the university’s pride in all of its students, staff and programs and not just the most popular ones. Our result produced some of the biggest stars in our history as one would expect, along with pioneers, important administrators and letterwinners who “turned pro in something other than sports.” Here is our Class of 2008; for their biographical sketches you can go to www.vucommodores.com.
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Chantelle Anderson, basketball Peggy Harmon Brady, golf John Hall, football Roy Kramer, director of athletics Clyde Lee, basketball Dan McGugin, football coach John Rich, baseball, football Fred Russell, Nashville Banner sports editor, baseball June Stewart, administrator Ryan Tolbert Jackson, track and field Bill Wade, football Perry Wallace, basketball If your all-time favorite Commodore isn’t on the list, remember that classes will be inducted annually. There are many “no-brainer” Hall-of-Famers just waiting their turn. Some have wondered where we plan to house our Hall of Fame. Construction soon will begin on a wonderful, three-story addition to the northwestern corner of McGugin Center, near Jess Neely Drive and Natchez Trace. The Hall of Fame will be beautifully included on the first floor and will be open to the public during normal business hours and special events such as football Saturdays. ■
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Vanderbilt Inducts First Hall of Fame Class ou don’t usually associate Vanderbilt University with Cooperstown, Canton or Springfi eld. However, this September Vanderbilt will have one thing in common with each of these hallowed sports towns … a hall of fame. Although you may be surprised that Vanderbilt didn’t have a hall of fame until 2008, you shouldn’t be. The concept of a hall of fame has long been common in the professional ranks, but it is still relatively spotty in collegiate athletics. Just how spotty is it? Consider that the College Basketball Hall of Fame was not established until 2006. In the SEC alone, there are three other schools that do not have halls of fame. While Vanderbilt won’t be a trailblazer this fall when it inducts its inaugural 12-member class it certainly won’t be behind the times when the class is inducted on Sept. 12 at a banquet. The banquet will be held the Friday before Vanderbilt’s football game against Rice. The idea for creating the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame is the brainchild of vice chancellor David Williams. “Part of (the idea) came from being appointed to the Tennessee Hall of Fame Board of Directors,” Williams said. “As I was sitting there in my fi rst meeting and going through candidates, a lot of the candidates that would come up for induction were members of many halls of fame.” To establish a hall of fame, Vanderbilt athletics offi cials turned to the fans to send in nominations with not only the name of the nominee, but also a reason why the nominee should be inducted. In order for a nominee to be considered it must have fallen under one of the three required categories for induction:
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Commodore Great — Letterwinners/ Athletes who have brought recognition and prominence to the university and themselves by their athletic accomplishments as an undergraduate. (Criteria to be considered: All-American, All-SEC, exceptional leadership as witnessed by teammates and/or coaches.) Distinguished Letterwinners — Letterwinners/athletes who have made major contributions to the university’s athletic program through personal time, effort, interest and through many years of continued service and/or have distinguished themselves. Lifetime Achievement — Individuals, coaches, athletic officials, staff members and other university officials, who were not letterwinners/athletes at Vanderbilt University, yet have rendered outstanding service to the intercollegiate athletics program through personal time, effort, interest and through many years of continued service. While the thought of having fans submit nominations raised a lot of uncertainty at first, skepticism was quickly wiped away when the nominations started coming in. “We went very public on it with our Web site, and we were very happy with the response we got,” Williams said. “Over a number of months, we had two to three hundred nominations.” To sort through the nominations and select the inaugural 12 inductees, Williams turned to Vanderbilt’s 16-member management group. “We went through this very deliberately,” Williams said. “We decided to select 12 people for this first class, and that was a hard decision because at any point and time we could have selected 30, 40 or 50 people
all of whom were deserving. Trying to get down to 12 was a really difficult thing.” After much deliberation, the group decided on a diverse class of individuals ranging from legendary athletes and trailblazers to powerful administrators and everything in between. The 12-member class encompasses of Chantelle Anderson (women’s basketball), Peggy Brady (golf), John Hall (football), Roy Kramer (administrator), Clyde Lee (men’s basketball), Dan McGugin (football coach), John Rich (baseball and football), Fred Russell (baseball player and sportswriter), June Stewart (administrator), Ryan Tolbert-Jackson (track and fi eld), Bill Wade (football) and Perry Wallace (basketball). The group will be enshrined in a banquet on Sept. 12 and will be recognized on the fi eld at halftime of the Rice football game the next day. Because there are so many that are deserving to be in the hall of fame, Williams expects the annual class to remain at 12 for the next few years before the classes are scaled back. One thing that will remain constant is the weekend each ensuing class will be inducted. From here on out, “Hall of Fame Weekend” will be held the weekend of the first home game (except games held on Thursday). Although there will not be a physical hall of fame building when the inaugural class is inducted this fall, plans for the Hall of Fame were unveiled in the fi ve-phase athletics facility plan announced last spring by athletics offi cials. The building is expected to be completed by the fall of 2009. Once built, the building will be attached to the Northwest portion of McGugin Center parallel to Jess Neely Drive. ■
VANDERBILT ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME • INAUGURAL CLASS OF 2008
Chantelle Anderson Basketball
Peggy Brady Golf
John Hall Football
Roy Kramer Administrator
Clyde Lee Basketball
Dan McGugin Football Coach
John Rich Baseball/Football
Fred Russell Sports Editor/Baseball
June Stewart Administrator
Ryan Tolbert Jackson Track and Field
Bill Wade Football
Perry Wallace Basketball
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2008 Season Preview Mackenzi Adams
D.J. Moore George Smith Mackenzi Adams and Chris Nickson will battle for playing time at quarterback. Cornerback D.J. Moore earned preseason first team All-SEC accolades from the media and coaches. George Smith is Vanderbilt’s top returning receiver.
leven. That’s how many points separated Vanderbilt from eight wins last season. Unfortunately, instead of ending a 25-year bowl drought, the Commodores just missed bowl eligibility by finishing 5-7. Although they have been unable to breakthrough the bowl threshold, the Commodores have proven they can compete with anyone in the conference, having registered road wins at Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee each of the last three seasons. In fact, if there were one word that could be used to define each of the last three seasons it would be close. Despite the close calls in recent years, seventh-year head coach Bobby Johnson remains confident that the program is pointed in the right direction. “It’s frustrating, but it is an indication that we are on the right track,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotten better in our recruiting. We’ve retained our players and made them bigger, made them stronger. We feel like we are knocking on the door, and we can continue to make progress, and if we do, eventually, we are going to be able to compete on the same level as everyone else in the SEC.” One indication of the program’s improvement was on the defensive side of the ball last season, where the team quietly put together the 16th-best defense in the country. In the SEC, only Georgia, Auburn and LSU allowed fewer yards per game than Vanderbilt’s average of 325.25 yards. The Commodores also had three players selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, and four others signed free agent contracts. Another indication that the program is continuing to move in the right direction has been
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SEPTEMBER 2008
the increased interest of fans. By the first week of August, the team already had surpassed last year’s season ticket total, which was the highest in 11 seasons. Having opened his tenure at Vanderbilt with three consecutive two-win seasons, the recent rise of the program on the field, coupled with the increase in interest from fans, has Johnson and his staff excited for what’s to come. “We’ve got a lot invested in this program as a staff,” Johnson said. “This is our seventh year, and there were some tough times early on the first couple of years and not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. We really think we have a chance to continue to get better. I think there is much more interest in our program by recruits and fans.” OFFENSE Quarterback It has been a few years since there has been this much competition heading into the season for the starting job at quarterback. In fact, you have to go back to 2002, Jay Cutler’s redshirt freshman season, to find the last time Vanderbilt did not have a starting quarterback picked by the time practice started. With senior Chris Nickson and junior Mackenzi Adams each starting six games last season, the battle for the No. 1 spot in 2008 will be the most compelling position battle of the season. Nickson entered the 2007 season as the clear-cut starter having been impressive in 2006, however injuries limited his ability. In eight games last year, Nickson completed 52.1 percent of his passes and rushed for 178 yards. Two years ago, Nickson threw for 2,085
yards and rushed for 694. With experience on his side, Nickson may have the edge. Adams’ debut as a starter came last year at South Carolina, where he threw two touchdown passes to help defeat the sixth-ranked Gamecocks. While playing in all 12 games last season, Adams completed 55.5 percent of his throws and rushed for 289 yards. “I think they’re both very similar,” Johnson said. “They’re both very mobile, but they’re also good passers. We’re going to let them push each other, and one of them is going to step up and be more prepared or better than the other. But you’ve always got to plan on having two ready to go and maybe even three. I think either one of those can be starters. We will be better at quarterback this year than we were last year, no doubt about it.” Providing depth at the position are sophomore Jared Funk and redshirt freshman Larry Smith. Running Back The Commodores lost 2007 leading rusher Cassen Jackson-Garrison to graduation, but return a solid nucleus of backs that contributed 619 yards on the ground. However, like the quarterback position, there is no clear-cut favorite to win the starting job. Battling for the top spot are senior Jeff Jennings and junior Jared Hawkins. The two will hope to become Vanderbilt’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Jermaine Johnson in 1995. Only Stanford (1991) and Hawaii (1992) have longer droughts without a back going for 1,000 yards in a season. Jennings is more of an inside-the-tackles rusher, while Hawkins is quicker around the edge. Jennings returned last season after
PHOTOS BY PAUL J. LEVY
Chris Nickson
missing 2006 with a knee injury. His top game of the season came against Kentucky when he had 70 yards on 12 carries. Arguably the team’s most explosive running back last season, Hawkins averaged 4.4 yards per carry. Because of his play last season, he may have a slight edge to win the position over Jennings. His top game was against Miami (Ohio) when he scampered for 61 yards on just 10 carries. In addition to his rushing ability, Hawkins was also the team’s best receiver out of the backfield with seven catches for 73 yards. Lurking behind Jennings and Hawkins are sophomores Gaston Miller and Kennard Reeves, who both put together impressive springs. Miller played two years ago after Jennings’ injury, but redshirted in 2007. “Gaston is one of those guys who has the breakaway ability or the big playability that I don’t think we had last year at tailback – except maybe with Jared (Hawkins) a little bit,” Johnson said. Receivers How do you replace Earl Bennett — the SEC’s all-time leader in receptions? That is the No. 1 question surrounding Vanderbilt’s receiving corps in 2008. In fact, senior wide receiver George Smith was asked that very question 13 times at SEC Media Day. It is nearly impossible to replace Bennett’s production with a single player, so the Commodores will use a mix of veterans and newcomers to fill the void. At the top of that list is Smith, a co-captain, who finished second on the team behind Bennett in catches (32), yards (397) and touchdowns (three) in 2007. Smith had surgery on his foot on Aug. 7, but is scheduled to return to practice at the beginning of Sept. Across from Smith will be senior Sean Walker, who had 20 catches for 270 yards and three touchdowns in 2007. The speedy Walker will be counted on to stretch the field as the team’s most proven deep threat. “At wide receiver, we’re not going to have a guy probably who’s going to catch 70, 80 passes like Earl did, but we’re going to have some guys who are going to be ready to step up and take his place,” Johnson said. Vanderbilt’s third wide receiver will be junior Justin Wheeler. Backing up the group will be redshirt freshmen Udom Umoh and Jamie Graham, and true freshman John Cole. The wildcards at the position are junior D.J. Moore and Graham. Moore, an All-SEC cornerback, is expected to be more involved in Vanderbilt’s offense this season after having a significant impact in 2007. After spending last season as a defensive back, Graham made the switch to the offensive side of the ball in the offseason. Although he missed most of spring practice because of his role with the men’s basketball team, his athletic ability is hard to keep off the field. Tight End The tight end position will be Vanderbilt’s least experienced of all skill positions. Fighting for the starting job are sophomore Austin Mona-
vucommodores.com
han and redshirt freshman Brandon Barden. Also seeing time at the position will be senior Jake Bradford, who had four catches for 80 yards and one touchdown in 2007. Offensive Line No position on Vanderbilt’s team was hit as hard by graduation as the offensive line, where all five starters from last year must be replaced. The largest void to fill will be the left tackle position that was occupied by Chris Williams, the 14th-overall selection in the NFL Draft. At right tackle will be junior Thomas Welch. Welch received valuable experience last year at both tackle positions. However, even with last year’s experience, Welch remains one of the team’s least experienced linemen, having made the switch from tight end midway through 2006. Backing up Welch will be freshman Kyle Fischer. The right guard position will likely be filled by sophomore Joey Bailey. Bailey will be backed up by juniors Drew Gardner and Ryan Vance. Bailey is a converted center, who played in four games last year. Gardner played in nine games last season and Vance saw action in one. After seeing substantial time at right guard and center in 2007, junior co-captain Bradley Vierling will take over the center position from departed senior Hamilton Holliday. Vierling played in all 12 games last season and averaged 30 plays per game. Behind Vierling will be Bailey. Junior Ryan Custer is expected to win the starting job at left guard ahead of juniors Eric Hensley and Nick Forte. In 2006, Custer made three starts at guard as a redshirt freshman.
7 RETURNING PLAYERS TO WATCH Joey Bailey • C/G • #71 Impressive enough to see time at guard, athletic
T.J. Greenstone • DT • #74 Practiced well, has shown continued development
Theron Kadri • DE • #91 Added 20 lbs. in offseason, athleticism on the edge
Chris Marve • LB • #13 Physical player, compete for starting job at MLB
Gaston Miller • RB • #27 Great spring practice, most explosive back
Udom Umoh • WR • #23 One of most impressive players in start of camp
John Stokes • LB • #49 Will be an every down linebacker this year
4 TRUE FRESHMAN TO WATCH John Cole • WR • #83 Very quick, great ball skills and knows the game
Casey Hayward • DB • #19 One of the guys the players talk about
Rob Lohr • DL • #84 Undersized, moves well, great upper body strength
Tristan Strong • LB • #24 Well developed coming into practice
2008 VANDERBILT SCHEDULE Date
Opponent
Time
8/28
at Miami (Ohio)
6:30pm
9/4
South Carolina
7:30pm
9/13
Rice
6:00pm
9/20
at Ole Miss
6:00pm
10/4
Auburn
TBA
10/11
at Mississippi State
TBA
10/18
at Georgia
TBA
10/25
Duke (Homecoming)
2:00pm
11/8
Florida
TBA
11/15
at Kentucky
TBA
11/22
Tennessee
TBA
11/29
at Wake Forest
TBA
Last year, Custer played in nine games, while rotating with Josh Eames. Hensley fractured his leg in the spring, but he should be fully recovered when the season begins. Replacing Brian Stamper at left tackle will be sophomore Reilly Lauer. Lauer made the switch from defensive end to offensive tackle in the offseason. Behind Lauer will be redshirt freshman James Williams. Even though all of the faces in the starting lineup will be new in 2008, assistant head coach and offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell has high expectations for the group. “This group has a new identity,” Caldwell said. “They will be faster. They are not as big or as strong, but hopefully they will be. We’ve got some guys in this group that could exceed everyone here if they take to heart exactly what we are teaching as the group before them did.” DEFENSE Defensive Line If there is any unit on defense that was comparably hit as hard by graduation as the offensive line, it is the defensive line. Vanderbilt will have to replace three of four starters with the loss of defensive end Curtis Gatewood and tackles Gabe Hall and Theo Horrocks. The lone returning starter of the group is junior defensive end Steven Stone, who will be backed up by sophomore Teriall Brannon. Stone started all 12 games last year while notching 45 tackles and tying for second on the team with four sacks. Opposite of Stone will be junior Broderick Stewart, who led the team with six sacks in 2007. The team’s most effective pass rusher, Stewart had 29 tackles and tied for the team lead with six quarterback hurries. Playing behind Stewart will be sophomore Theron Kadri. Filling the vacated defensive tackle positions will be junior Greg Billinger and sophomore Adam Smotherman. Billinger played behind Horrocks the last two seasons. Providing depth will be redshirt freshman T.J. Greenstone and true freshman Rob Lohr.
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Linebacker Vanderbilt lost two of its top three tacklers from last year with the departure of Jonathan Goff and Marcus Buggs to the NFL. To replace the duo, the Commodores will turn to a young, but talented group. The veteran of the group is junior middle linebacker Patrick Benoist. Benoist started the final four games last season after missing the first three games due to injury. Despite missing time, he still recorded 32 tackles and tied for second on the team with four sacks. Pushing Benoist for playing time will be junior Chris Johnson and redshirt freshman Chris Marve. At SEC Media Day, starting safety Reshard Langford called Marve the “defensive player to watch” this year. Sophomore Nate Campbell and junior Brent Trice — a converted safety — are battling for the starting job at weakside linebacker. Junior Brandon Bryant will also be a factor when he returns from his leg injury at midseason. One of three true freshmen to see action last year, sophomore John Stokes is lined up to take over at strongside linebacker. In addition to his play on defense, Stokes also is the team’s primary long snapper. Stokes will be backed up by sophomore Austin Newton. Secondary Not only will the secondary be Vanderbilt’s strongest unit in 2008, it arguably is one of the best units in the SEC with all four starters returning from a year ago. Just how good is the unit? Many believe that it is VU’s best defensive backfield since the mid-1990s when future NFL players Corey Chavous, Fred Vinson, Ainsley Battles and Eric Vance controlled the secondary. The unit will be led by do-it-all junior D.J. Moore, who earned first team All-SEC honors in 2007. Last year, Moore’s six picks tied for the most in the SEC. “D.J. Moore is a very special football player,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the most natural football players I’ve ever been around. He just seems to know how to play the game at cornerback. He anticipates where the quarterback’s going to throw the ball.” With more teams likely to look away from Moore’s side of the field, the play of junior cornerback Myron Lewis will be key to the defense’s success. Last year, Lewis excelled in the situation by tallying a team-best 12 pass breakups. For the third year in a row, junior Darlron Spead will be the team’s primary nickelback. Providing depth at defensive back will be seniors Josh Allen and Jared Fagan. Like the cornerback positions, both safety positions have depth. Senior co-captain Reshard Langford will return to his role as one of the top strong safeties in the SEC. Junior Ryan Hamilton will occupy the free safety position. Hamilton ranked fourth on the team in tackles last season (68), while Langford finished fifth (65). Providing depth at the safety position are juniors Joel Caldwell and Brent Trice.
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SEPTEMBER 2008
Special Teams Heading into practice, it appeared that Vanderbilt’s special teams unit from a year ago would remain virtually intact. However a stomach illness of junior punter Brett Upson has brought uncertainty to the position. Upson missed the start of fall practice with the illness. He is now battling senior Bryant Hahnfeldt for the punting job. Last season, Upson averaged 39.2 yards per punt and ranked among the SEC leaders with 22 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Hahnfeldt, a three-year starter at kicker, is once again in line to handle the kicking duties
for the Commodores. Last year, Hahnfeldt made 13 of 20 attempts, while missing just one of 30 extra-point attempts. After electrifying the crowd with his return ability in 2007, D.J. Moore once again will be the team’s primary kick returner. Last year, he set a school record for total return yardage, while averaging 25.7 yards per return. With last year’s primary punt returner, Alex Washington, likely sidelined for all or most of the 2008 season with a knee injury, it is likely that Moore also will get a chance to return a few punts. John Cole also is apt to return punts. ■
2008 PRESEASON DEPTH CHART Offense
Defense
WR
80 25
Justin Wheeler Jamie Graham
(6-1, 178, R-Jr.) (6-0, 190, R-Fr.)
DE
96 89
Steven Stone Teriall Brannon
(6-5, 268, R-Jr.) (6-3, 235, R-So.)
WR
88 23 83
George Smith Udom Umoh John Cole
(6-3, 202, R-Sr.) (5-11, 172, R-Fr.) (5-11, 170, Fr.)
DT
56 84
Greg Billinger Rob Lohr
(6-3, 290, Jr.) (6-4, 268, Fr.)
DT WR
7 36
Sean Walker Chris Reinert
(6-0, 178, R-Sr.) (5-9, 175, R-Jr.)
59 74
Adam Smotherman (6-4, 285, R-So.) T.J. Greenstone (6-2, 280, R-Fr.)
DE
90 91
Broderick Stewart (6-5, 230, R-Jr.) Theron Kadri (6-2, 265, So.)
QB -or-
3 9
Chris Nickson (6-1, 212, R-Sr.) Mackenzi Adams (6-3, 215, R-Jr.)
TB -or-
21 31
Jeff Jennings Jared Hawkins
(6-1, 214, R-Sr.) (5-10, 202, R-Jr.)
TE -or-
86 85 85
Austin Monahan Brandon Barden Jake Bradford
(6-7, 255, So.) (6-5, 245, R-Fr.) (6-6, 270, Sr.)
68 77
Reilly Lauer James Williams
(6-6, 275, R-So.) (6-6, 305, R-Fr.)
73 66 61
Ryan Custer Eric Hensley Nick Forte
C
60 71
RG
WLB 52 -or- 11
Nate Campbell Brent Trice
(6-3, 228, R-Fr.) (6-3, 214, Jr.)
MLB 30 -or- 45 -or- 13
Patrick Benoist Chris Johnson Chris Marve
(6-0, 215, Jr.) (6-1, 228, R-Jr.) (6-0, 225, R-Fr.)
SLB
49 46
John Stokes Austin Newton
(6-5, 228, So.) (6-3, 218, R-So.)
CB
(6-3, 295, R-Jr.) (6-6, 312, R-Jr.) (6-2, 290, R-Jr.)
5 16
Myron Lewis Alan Strong
(6-2, 202, Jr.) (5-9, 180, R-So.)
SS
33 11
Reshard Langford (6-2, 212, R-Sr.) Brent Trice (6-3, 214, Jr.)
Bradley Vierling Joey Bailey
(6-3, 292, R-Jr.) (6-4, 280, R-So.)
FS
2 29
Ryan Hamilton Joel Caldwell
(6-2, 210, R-Jr.) (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
71 70 79
Joey Bailey Drew Gardner Ryan Vance
(6-4, 280, R-So.) (6-5, 305, R-Jr.) (6-3, 290, R-Jr.)
CB
17 14
D.J. Moore Josh Allen
(5-10, 182, Jr.) (5-9, 182, R-Sr.)
NB RT
76 72
Thomas Welch Kyle Fischer
(6-7, 305, R-Jr.) (6-6, 300, R-Fr.)
6 20
Darlron Spead Jared Fagan
(5-10, 186, R-Jr.) (5-10, 182, R-Sr.)
PK
8 97
Bryant Hahnfeldt John Laughrey
(5-11, 185, Sr.) (5-11, 180, R-So.)
PR
17 83
D.J. Moore John Cole
(5-10, 182, Jr.) (5-11, 170 Fr.)
SN-PK 49 75
John Stokes Nick Miller
(6-5, 228, So.) (6-3, 260, R-Jr.)
P -or-
H
9 36
Mackenzi Adams (6-3, 215, R-Jr.) Chris Reinert (5-9, 175, R-Sr.)
8 39 94 84
Bryant Hahnfeldt Brett Upson Ryan Fowler Richard Kent
(5-11, 185, Sr.) (5-11, 185, Jr.) (5-10, 160, Fr.) (6-1, 190, Fr.)
KO
8 97
Bryant Hahnfeldt John Laughrey
(5-11, 185, Sr.) (5-11, 180, R-So.)
John Stokes Nick Miller
(6-5, 228, So.) (6-3, 260, R-Jr.)
KR
17 7
D.J. Moore Sean Walker
(5-10, 182, Jr.) (6-0, 178, R-Sr.)
LT
LG
Specialists
SN-P 49 75
Note: Players identified in bold started at least five games in 2007
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C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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Quick Hits
season first team All-SEC by the media on July 25. • Senior safety Reshard Langford was named third team All-SEC by the league’s head coaches on July 22. • The Tennessee Sports Writers Association named former wide receiver Earl Bennett the state’s 2007 College Football Player of the Year on July 9. He is the first Vanderbilt player to receive the award this decade. • D.J. Moore was named to the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list on July 8. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive back. • Former Connecticut starting wide receiver Terence Jeffers transferred to Vanderbilt and will be eligible to play beginning in 2009. He has two years of eligibility remaining. • Former offensive tackle Chris Williams signed a five-year contract worth $16 million with the Chicago Bears on July 24.
MEN’S SPORTS Baseball • Former
Vanderbilt pitcher Casey Weathers played for the 2008 Olympic Team. • Junior Mike Minor was named College Summer League Tim Corbin Player of the Year on Aug. 11 by Baseball America. • Minor helped the USA Baseball National Team defeat Japan 1-0 in the gold medal game of the FISU World Championships on July 27 by throwing 9.2 innings of shutout baseball, while striking out nine in the 12-inning game. • Former Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez received a $6 million signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Golf • Julie Bartholomew and Me-
gan Grehan were named to the National Golf Coaches Association’s All-American Greg Scholar Team on July 2. In orAllen der to be eligible, a studentathlete must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 and competed in at least 50 percent of the team’s rounds. • Vanderbilt will host the annual Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 26-28 at Vanderbilt’s Legends Club. • Sophomore Megan Grehan and senior Amber Lundskog competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Aug. 5-6.
Basketball • Shan Foster was drafted No.
MASON HENSLEY
JOHN RUSSELL
51 overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2008 NBA Draft. • In August, Foster signed a one-year contract to play in Kevin Italy. However, the Mavericks Stallings still own his rights. • Former Commodore Ross Neltner signed to play for Bursa in Turkey. • Former Vanderbilt basketball star Barry Goheen assumed the role of Chairman of the Board for the Atlanta Tipoff Club – the home of the Naismith Awards since 1969 – on July 1.
D.J. Moore earned preseason first team AllSEC honors from the media and coaches.
GETTY IMAGES/NBA
Cross Country • Rising senior Matt Long fin-
ished fourth at the ITU Triathlon World Championship for athletes in the 20-24 age Steve group on June 10. Keith • Long is spending the bulk of his summer at the USA Triathlon development camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Tennis
Tennis
• Former Commodore Bobby Reynolds was the lone American men’s tennis player to advance to the third round at Wimbledon. • Vanderbilt opens its season Sept. 19-22 at Southern Collegiates.
• Head coach Geoff Macdon-
Ian Duvenhage
WOMEN’S SPORTS • Freshman Brittni Hamilton of Webster, N.Y., finished second at the 2008 Teen Masters on July 28. • Hamilton was selected as an
• Junior defensive back D.J.
Moore was named preseason first team All-SEC by the league’s head coaches on July 22. • Moore also was named pre-
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SEPTEMBER 2008
Bobby Johnson
• Freshman Chelsea Stewart
Hudson Johnson earned a spot in the 2008 U.S. Amateur by picking up medalist honors at a sectional qualifying event in Tom Madison, Miss., on July 30. Shaw • Vanderbilt’s 2008-09 schedule is comprised of nine tournaments, including the annual Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 26-28 at Vanderbilt’s Legends Club.
Bowling Football
Soccer was named to the 2008 Canadian Olympic Soccer Team and the Under 20 National Soccer Team. Ronnie • Because of Stewart’s commit- Coveleskie ment to Olympics and to train for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cub, she will not attend Vanderbilt this fall and will instead defer until the 2009-10 school year. • Senior Katie Schulz was named to the preseason All-SEC team by the league’s head coaches on Aug. 13.
Golf • Junior
Foster averaged 8.6 points in five games for the Mavericks Summer League Team.
Megan Grehan missed qualifying for match play by just one stroke at the U.S. Amateur.
at-large member of the Junior Team USA on July 11.
John Williamson
ald announced the signing of Erica Robertson to a National Letter of Intent on June 23. Robertson was the fourth Geoff member of Vanderbilt’s sign- Macdonald ing class. • Former Commodore Amanda Taylor was one of 58 student-athletes to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. • Taylor was awarded with a one-time, nonrenewable grant of $7,500. The scholarships were awarded to student-athletes who excelled academically and athletically, and who were in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. • VU opens its season Sept. 26-28 at the Furman Fall Classic.
Connecting Commodores With Careers f you were like the majority of college students, you had very little idea about what you would be doing for a career until your senior year or even later. The decisions were hard, and the process was stressful. As hard as the process is for regular students, it can be even harder for student-athletes, who already are balancing school work with practices, games and the hours spent traveling. While it is easy to imagine what the time constraints would be like as a student-athlete, the only ones who really know are current and former student-athletes. Former Vanderbilt women’s basketball player Beth Meg Spies Freeman is now the lacrosse Ostendorf knows firsthand coach at The Ensworth School how difficult it can be for in Nashville. student-athletes to find time to focus on a career. “As a student-athlete I did not have as much time to take advantage of the resources that the Career Services Center offers on campus,” said Ostendorf, who now works in San Diego as the director of recruitment for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Therefore, I missed out on mock interviews, resume critiques, on-campus interviews, career fairs, etc. Vanderbilt gains a lot of national attention from potential employers due to the high rankings that Vanderbilt always receives, however as a student-athlete we weren’t always able to take full advantage of all of the opportunities due to our schedules.” To help current student-athletes find their career path after college, Alison Bush, Vanderbilt’s CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator, has turned to former student-athletes to create a career database called CHAMPS Career Connection or C3. The database, which will be unveiled this fall, allows current student-athletes to view the contact and career information of former Vanderbilt student-athletes. “We wanted to do more in the career development for our student-athletes with CHAMPS,” Bush said. “This will be a great way for student-athletes to network with former student-athletes.” Having struggled to find a job right after college, Ostendorf wishes that a similar program was in place when she was in school. “After graduation I wanted to move to San Diego, but I had a very difficult time getting my foot in the door with employment opportunities because I didn’t know anyone in the area,” Ostendorf said. “I would have loved to have had contact information for Vanderbilt student-athlete alumni in San Diego that were excited to help out.” Former Vanderbilt lacrosse player Meg Spies Freeman also believes the program is going to be a success. “For many, this is an immediate connection into a company of interest,” said Freeman, who now works at The Ensworth School in Nashville, where she is the assistant to the athletic director and the lacrosse coach. “Overall, this is an extremely smart endeavor and many will benefit from this service. I am pleased to offer a service to a university and an athletic program that provided so much for me.” One of the many things the program has working for it is the bond that is formed among student-athletes. “Student-athletes are able to connect on a different level because we experienced a lot of the same challenges throughout college,”
I
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Ostendorf added. “I would bend over backwards to help out any student-athlete because I had such a difficult time breaking into the job market right out of college. “The project should help both the current and past student-athletes build a stronger network and stronger professional relationships.” The database was created by Bush, who sent a mailing to more than 2,000 former student-athletes. So far, the response rate has been more than 20 percent, despite many outdated addresses. Through this process, Bush hopes that C3 will not only help student-athletes find careers, but also connect student-athletes from the past with Vanderbilt. “After (student-athletes) graduate, we lose touch with so many of them, and this is a way to bring them back into the Vanderbilt family,” Bush said. In order for the project to be successful, Bush is hopeful that this year’s senior class will use the database and will want to stay involved after they graduate. “Hopefully, student-athletes will want to be involved when they leave, and in turn, will help other student-athletes when they graduate.” Even though the project is just taking flight, the response from former student-athletes has been very positive. “I would have loved to have known someone that could at least get me contact information or put my resume in front of companies that I was targeting in my career search,” Ostendorf said. ■ If you are a former Vanderbilt student-athlete and you would like to add your contact information to C3, you can do so by contacting Alison Bush at 615/343-5463 or alison.bush@vanderbilt.edu
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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22
SEPTEMBER 2008
Vote For Your Top 10 Vanderbilt Football Wins hether it was Vanderbilt winning at Georgia in 2006 or at Tennessee in 2005, Vanderbilt has posted many memorable wins on the gridiron in recent years. Which win has been the best? To determine the answer, Commodore Nation is turning to Vanderbilt fans to determine the top 10 wins by the football team during the modern era (1936-present). While college football pundits could argue the start of the modern era in college football ad nauseam, we have chosen 1936 — the first year of the Associated Press Poll — as the start of the modern era. Although there are many other wins that you could argue should be on the list, we tried to spread the games out enough to cover at least one game in each decade. In order to vote for the top 10 games, you must log on to vucommodores.com. Voting will be open until Oct. 1, and the results will be revealed in the November and December issues of Commodore Nation.
W
Oct. 23, 1937 • Vanderbilt 7, #6 LSU 6 • Nashville
Nov. 29, 1975 • Vanderbilt 17, Tennessee 14 • Knoxville, Tenn.
Oct. 19, 1991 • Vanderbilt 27, #17 Georgia 25 • Nashville
Vanderbilt’s 7-6 win over No. 6 LSU remains tied for the highest ranked opponent Vanderbilt has ever defeated. Tackle Greer Ricketson scored Vanderbilt’s only touchdown when he rambled 50 yards after the running back hid the ball on the ground. The loss was LSU’s first in its previous 14 conference games. VU’s seven points were the most surrendered all season by an LSU team that finished 9-2 overall.
The Commodores defeated Tennessee, 17-14, while picking up their first win in Knoxville since 1959. Vanderbilt’s yearbook, The Commodore, said this about the game: “The win was probably the most significant Vanderbilt victory since before most of the players were born. For it is now, after these four straight victories that Vanderbilt football has more momentum than it has had in the last 25 years or more.”
Tailback Corey Harris takes an errant pitch by Marcus Wilson 51 yards for the deciding points in Vanderbilt’s 27-25 victory over No. 17 Georgia. Harris and fellow running back Sam Chalmers both top 100 rushing yards. The win also snapped a 17-game winless streak to the Bulldogs. Georgia had a chance at a gamewinning field goal, but missed from 48 yards, received a VU offsides penalty, and missed from 43.
Nov. 22, 1941 • Vanderbilt 7, #7 Alabama 0 • Nashville
Oct. 9, 1982 • Vanderbilt 31, #14 Florida 29 • Nashville
In his second year at the helm, Vanderbilt head coach Red Sanders moves Vanderbilt’s record to 8-1 with a 7-0 win over No. 7 Alabama. Had Alabama won, it would have played in the Sugar Bowl. Instead, VU sent the Tide (9-2) to the Cotton Bowl behind a defense that allowed Alabama to cross the 50-yard line just once in the final three quarters. QB Art Rebrovich connected with Jack Jenkins for the lone TD.
Oct. 7, 1950 • Vanderbilt 27, #12 Alabama 22 • Mobile, Ala. Played in Mobile, Vanderbilt posted a 27-22 win over No. 12 Alabama behind quarterback Bill Wade’s three touchdown passes. Following the win, VU joined the AP Top 25 at No. 19. Alabama went on to finish the season 9-2.
Dec. 31, 1955 • Vanderbilt 25, #8 Auburn 13 • Gator Bowl Playing in the first bowl game in school history, Vanderbilt capitalized on five fumble recoveries to defeat No. 8 Auburn 25-13 in the Gator Bowl. Quarterback Don Orr rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win.
Oct. 11, 1969 • Vanderbilt 14, #13 Alabama 10 • Nashville Playing with a hurt shoulder, Watson Brown hits Jim Cunningham with the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass in Vanderbilt’s 14-10 win over No. 13 Alabama. VU outgained Alabama 473-201 on offense and had 28 first downs compared to Alabama’s 10.
Oct. 12, 1974 • Vanderbilt 24, #8 Florida 10 • Nashville Steve Sloan’s Commodores showed signs of progress, taking a 24-3 lead en route to a 24-10 win over No. 8 Florida. Vanderbilt won the game behind senior quarterback David Lee, who was subbing for the injured Fred Fisher. The win helped the Commodores earn a bid to the Peach Bowl, where they tied Texas Tech, 6-6.
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Leading 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt’s All-SEC tackle Rob Monaco recovered a Vanderbilt fumble in the end zone for a gameclinching touchdown in Vanderbilt’s 31-29 win over No. 14 Florida. The win was Vanderbilt’s first conference victory at home in seven years. The win spurred VU to the Hall of Fame Bowl. Whit Taylor completed 30 of 47 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 64 yards.
Nov. 27, 1982 • Vanderbilt 28, Tennessee 21 • Knoxville, Tenn. Dubbed the “Super Bowl of Tennessee,” the game lived up to its billing as the lead changed hands throughout the game with neither team able to establish more than a seven-point lead. After Whit Taylor connected with Phil Roach for 65 yards, Taylor scored on an option rush with 3:00 left to give VU a game-clinching lead in a 28-21 win over Tennessee. The win gave VU a berth to the Hall of Fame Bowl.
Sept. 29, 1984 • Vanderbilt 30, Alabama 21 • Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vanderbilt moved to 4-0 on the season, the school’s best start to a season since 1950, after defeating Alabama 30-21 and snapping the Tide’s 26-year streak of winning on homecoming. After the win, AP pollsters gave Vanderbilt a No. 17 ranking. The win remains Vanderbilt’s only win in Tuscaloosa. Prior to the win, Vanderbilt’s last victory against Alabama outside of Nashville came in 1956 in Mobile.
Oct. 15, 1988 • Vanderbilt 24, #20 Florida 9 • Nashville The Commodores put on a defensive clinic for the capacity crowd that watched Vanderbilt top No. 20 Florida 24-9. Vanderbilt limited Florida to 275 yards, while intercepting two passes, notching three sacks and recovering a fumble. The Gators entered the game with the No. 2-ranked defense and No. 14-ranked offense. Individually, linebacker Billy Cunningham had an interception and two sacks.
Nov. 19, 2005 • Vanderbilt 28, Tennessee 24 • Knoxville, Tenn. Jay Cutler’s final pass as a Commodore will be remembered forever. With 1:11 to play at Tennessee, Cutler hit wide receiver Earl Bennett from five yards out to cement a 28-24 win. The win snapped a 14-game skid at Tennessee and ended the Vols’ bowl hopes.
Oct. 14, 2006 • Vanderbilt 24, #16 Georgia 22 • Athens, Ga. Just minutes after having a pass intercepted for a touchdown, quarterback Chris Nickson directed a 15-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Bryant Hahnfeldt’s game-winning 33-yard field goal with :02 left, vaulting VU to a 24-22 win at Georgia. Nickson threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Oct. 20, 2007 • Vanderbilt 17, #6 South Carolina 6 • Columbia, S.C. Vanderbilt’s 17-6 win at No. 6 South Carolina tied for the highest-ranked opponent Vanderbilt has ever defeated. It was also VU’s first win over Steve Spurrier in 15 tries. VU’s defense held South Carolina to 26 yards rushing and tied a school record with seven sacks. Cornerback D.J. Moore had two interceptions and eight tackles, while quarterback Mackenzi Adams had two touchdown passes in his firstcareer start.
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C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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The Last Look
RAY OF HOPE
MARVIN GENTRY
David Price continued his quick path to the big leagues on July 6 when he allowed just one run and struck out six en route to leading the Montgomery Biscuits (AA) to a 3-1 win at West Tennessee.
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SEPTEMBER 2008