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This is a Game Changer
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GAMEDAY
2012 Season Opener For 122 years, the arrival of Vanderbilt’s football season each autumn has signaled the beginning of another year of high-level collegiate athletics to Nashville’s sporting community. Generations of Middle Tennesseans have joined alumni to make the Commodores their favorite, forming a close bond that exists today. The games are well over a century old but the spectacle of college athletics still offers a tingle of excitement to young and old alike. The 2012–13 sports year began in front of a nationally televised audience of millions with Vanderbilt Stadium’s new video board, lighting and sports turf on full display. The large audience is symbolic of the ever-increasing footprint Vanderbilt Athletics has in the community, and the stadium enhancements represent a department that is on the move. Indeed, the Commodores are Game Changers!
A Welcome from Director of Athletics David Williams
I
am pleased to introduce you to the “State of Commodore Nation” and hope you will enjoy its new look and expanded scope of information. While this publication takes a look back at the 2011–12 school year, our primary goal is to show a snapshot of our Department of Student Athletics. We are very proud of what has been accomplished in recent years and more excited than ever about what the future holds. When I am asked to reflect on past achievements, I find it a hard question because my preference is to focus on what is going to happen next. How are we going to improve? What are the ingredients we will need to make that improvement? Those are thoughts that occupy me on a daily basis. We have made tangible progress on many fronts. Certainly one of the most noticeable areas is with our physical plant, where major improvements have been made to Vanderbilt Stadium, McGugin Center and Hawkins Field. These are detailed in the upcoming pages. Other projects are on the near horizon, including the Multipurpose Facility, which enlarges our Student Rec Center, opens up quality training opportunities for our varsity teams and expands workout options for university students and staff. We are becoming much more competitive in the Southeastern Conference across the board. We had two SEC championship teams with women’s cross country and men’s basketball last year. We were one of just six departments in the nation that had its football team reach a bowl game and its women’s and men’s basketball teams and baseball team make the NCAA Tournament. We have big goals—audacious goals—and we make progress toward them every day. We had our best fundraising year in nearly two decades, a vital area if we are to continue adding first-class facilities and attracting the finest student-athletes. We are proud to say that we have made this headway while at the same time continuing to produce year after year our best academic performances ever. We continue to strive to live up to our tradition of playing within the spirit and letter of NCAA rules. We want to be a model program in the nation. Thank you for your interest in Vanderbilt University athletics. Anchor Down! David Williams Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director
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2011 SEC Women’s Cross Country
Coach Steven Keith’s building program crested when his Commodores dominated the 2011conference championship.
SEC Champions 2012 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Vanderbilt stunned No. 1 rated Kentucky to win its first league tournament in 61 years.
SEC Coach of the Year Steven Keith inherited a lackluster cross country program six years ago and steadily built it into national power. In consideration for his remarkable success in winning the Southeastern Conference championship, the Vanderbilt alumnus was honored as the SEC’s Coach of the Year.
New Head Coaches Derek Greene served 2011 as soccer’s interim head coach and, showing he had the program heading in the right direction, was named head coach after the season. He and his hard-working staff have Commodore soccer on the move with aggressive recruiting and daily improvement.
Scott Limbaugh was lured from perennial power Alabama to build Vanderbilt’s fortunes in men’s golf. Limbaugh, regarded as one of the top recruiters in college golf, quickly showed tangible progress by leading the Commodores to the championship in the 2012–13 season’s second tournament of the year, the Mason Rudolph Championship.
The recent past has been eventful, exciting and successful as Vanderbilt has maintained its distinction of being a national leader on and off the field of play. The Commodores were one of only six Division I athletic programs in the nation to put the four major revenue sports—football, women’s and men’s basketball and baseball—in NCAA post-season play. Here are some highlights.
Team Highlights • Two teams won Southeastern Conference championships. During the fall of 2011, women’s cross country cruised to its first-ever SEC title and capped its season by finishing sixth at the NCAA Championship, a school best. • In March the men’s basketball team shocked No. 1 rated Kentucky and much of the nationally televised audience by winning the conference tournament. The SEC Tournament title was the program’s first since 1951. • First-year head coach James Franklin stirred up Commodore Nation by earning a trip to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The team won six games and narrowly missed on a couple of other opportunities as it became one of the feel-good stories in college football. 8
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• The baseball team had a rags to nearriches season. The young Commodores lost 15 of the season’s first 24 games, then came roaring back to reach the NCAA regional championship game. • Senior bowler Brittni Hamilton made national news by rolling a perfect 300 game, a program first. • Scott Limbaugh was lured away from national power Alabama to become the men’s head golf coach. His Commodores would win their own Mason Rudolph Championship in September. • Derek Greene became the women’s soccer team’s head coach after serving as an assistant.
Developing Leaders Tiffany Clarke With her first game of the 2012–13 basketball season, Tiffany Clarke will see action for the 100th time as a Commodore. The senior has started nearly half those games but off the court Clarke makes an even bigger impact. She has over a 3.0 GPA as a double major in interdisciplinary studies and human and organizational development. Outside of the classroom, Clarke was a participant in Olympic FLAME (Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere). Held by the U.S. Olympic Committee, the program works to inspire minority college students to succeed and rise above the ordinary.
“I like challenges,” Clarke says. “I like seeing how high I can reach and being at Vanderbilt has given me the opportunity. I wouldn’t be doing half the things I am if I weren’t here.”
John Ewing No one can say John Ewing takes the easy way out. Ewing chose to come to Vanderbilt and major in chemical engineering, and he’s posted an impressive 3.967 GPA. As if the academic challenge wasn’t enough, Ewing chose to run for the men’s cross country team, where he is now part of the team’s young core as the program develops in spite of having no scholarship funding. On top of his academic and athletic workload, Ewing serves as a VUceptor, welcoming Vanderbilt freshmen to campus, and he did a summer internship in biomedical research at Georgia Tech.
“At the most basic level, I am motivated academically by the desire to learn. When I can view a class as though the content is revealing how the world works, it helps push me to figure out the concepts. Also, the competitive atmosphere, especially at Vanderbilt, helps drive my studies.”
Lauren Rhein Lauren is a member of Vanderbilt’s nationally prominent varsity bowling team. The New Jersey native had envisioned a career in the financial world or possibly even athletics but that was before her mom’s illness forced her to leave school for a semester to help at home. She is now on a path toward a medical career, focusing on health care administration.
“Caring for my mother for the months that I was home from school made me realize that I want to help and touch as many lives as I possibly can,” says Rhein. “I want to leave my job every day knowing I made a difference.”
Zac Stacy Zac Stacy is fulfilling his dreams. Four years ago, the Alabama native came to Vanderbilt University looking to star on the gridiron and prepare himself for an eventual life of service to others. On the field, the senior has distinguished himself as arguably the greatest running back in modern Vanderbilt history. Off the field, the son of Barbara Stacy and fiercely loyal brother of Justin Stacy is on schedule to earn a degree from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College and pursue a career in education.
“I admire inspiring people and making a difference with young people. Education not only helps me accommodate children in academics but also enables me to have a tremendous impact in their lives.”
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Special Events The women’s golf team hosted the NCAA Championship for the first time ever, finishing 11th while earning rave reviews for its administration of the tournament. Hosting the tournament required months of preparation.
Women’s basketball once again returned to NCAA March Madness and it served as a host to first and second round NCAA games.
David Williams was named full-time Athletics Director in a summer press conference with Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos.
ESPN brought its renowned Game Day to Memorial Gymnasium in February as the Commodores hosted Kentucky.
The induction dinner for the fourth Hall of Fame class was held in late August, 2011, with a capacity crowd of 450 in attendance to see nine Commodore legends join the elite circle.
Vanderbilt officials conducted the second annual Fan Forum in which a cross-section of football season ticket holders were brought to McGugin Center to critique marketing and promotion strategies and continued efforts to improve the game atmosphere. 12
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One of the nation’s leading collegiate football writers, Ron Higgins, estimated that “60 percent of the 57,103 fans” at the Liberty Bowl were hoping Vanderbilt would win.
Every year Vanderbilt invites its former student-athletes back to campus. Here women’s basketball alumni are welcomed home.
An array of football uniforms were unveiled during a mid-summer event at the Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt campus bookstore. Commodore players modeled the various combinations as Coach James Franklin described the new look.
The department’s emphasis on promoting its many traditions not only raised awareness among its fan base but also drew regional media attention.
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Nation on the Rise Licensing Revenue Increases Vanderbilt partners with Collegiate Licensing Company to ensure the trademarked Vanderbilt icons such as the Star V logo are properly used by the marketplace and protected from fraudulent use. CLC partners with Vanderbilt to advise and help promote our marks. The revenue these licensed marks generated during the most recent reporting period were up approximately 30 percent, a clear indication that more and more Vanderbilt merchandise is being sold and used.
Standardizing Our Gold For the past two years, a variety of Vanderbilt offices have collaborated to agree internally and educate manufacturers externally about which gold hue is the proper Vanderbilt gold. This is a much more complex task than might meet the eye as products are produced around the world and not everyone is able to create the exact tint. Considerable progress has been made, especially with product that has come out in the last few months.
Social Media Success Vanderbilt is regarded as a leader in the Southeastern Conference and even nationally in the strategic use of the Internet and social media, including Facebook, Twitter and specialty videos. Two videos posted on YouTube prior to the 2012 football season went “viral” with one involving the surprise awarding of a scholarship to walk-on Marc Panu receiving well over 400,000 views and becoming the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN. Additionally, during the Commodores’ run to the 2011 College World Series, over a quarter-million unique viewers visited vucommodores.com.
Vandyville Grows Vandyville has more than tripled in size since its inception eight years ago. In 2012 60 tents were purchased on a season basis for tailgating ease and pleasure and the area otherwise known as Natchez Trace has become the place to see and be seen before Commodore football games.
51st in Director’s Cup Vanderbilt placed 51st in 2011–12 in the Director’s Cup national all-sports standings, which placed it in the top 20th percentile among all schools earning points. This becomes more significant when one considers Vanderbilt fields just 16 varsity programs and the Director’s Cup scores 20 sports.
Ticket Sales Rise Historic Memorial Gymnasium sold out on a season basis to watch the 2011–12 men’s basketball team battle the SEC’s best. Season ticket sales for 2012 Commodore football exceeded 18,000, an increase of nearly one-third from the 2011 season.
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SIGNs of the timeS Liberty Bowl Appearance
Vanderbilt football became one of the more talked about topics in college football during the 2011 season, not only because of its six victories but it’s never-say-die attitude that took several highly ranked teams down to the wire. As a reward, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl invited the Commodores to play Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve on its historic Memphis field, Vanderbilt’s second bowl opportunity in four years. The invitation was issued before an overflow gathering at the Student Life Center and game tickets immediately became a hot commodity. Vanderbilt’s athletic ticket office quickly went through its initial allotment of 10,000 tickets, asked for and received more and promptly sold those. Of the 57,000 fans attending the game, the vast majority wore black and gold. The 31-24 defeat to the Bearcats couldn’t dampen the optimism of Commodore fans, whose 2012 season ticket purchases represented one of Vanderbilt’s highest totals. There is momentum within Vanderbilt’s athletic program – it’s a sign of the times.
Facilities The past 15 months have seen unprecedented construction, renovation and expansion with Vanderbilt’s athletic facilities. From internal projects such as Olympic sport locker rooms and an array of new meeting rooms in McGugin Center, to more visible improvements such as the addition of sports turf in Vanderbilt Stadium and Hawkins Field, video boards in the stadium and Memorial Gymnasium, and a greatly enlarged athletic dining facility, never before has athletics seen so much growth in such a short window of time. There are exciting new projects in the works including the multipurpose addition to the Student Rec Center, which will benefit many varsity teams as well as the university community, and outstanding new golf facilities being planned for the Vanderbilt Legends Club. New lighting in Vanderbilt Stadium has raised the quality of network telecasts and created an appealing new atmosphere for fans.
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The football auditorium offers a state-of-the-art meeting experience for large groups and special events. 003
Advances in the production of artificial sports turf made its addition to Vanderbilt Stadium and Hawkins Field attractive and prudent. Not only will Commodore teams benefit but plans call for more outside revenue-producing events to occur on the fields now that concern over fragile natural turf being damaged or over-used has ended.
Two meeting rooms are designated for Olympic team use while the football program has put new team rooms to good use. There is even a new conference room in the new wing that quickly became well used.
The multipurpose facility has attracted considerable interest since it will house a 120-yard indoor workout facility that is expected to open in August 2013. The $31 million project will contain a 120-yard turfed field that can be used by a variety of teams in addition to football. It also will have a running track suitable to host major championships in addition to allowing the university community to exercise when not in use by teams. Renovations and additions to the Student Rec Center will include bowling lanes which will allow the bowling team to practice on campus, saving commute time to the team’s current site.
(top) McGugin Center’s Hendrix Room, the training table and site of the famous evening meals, was remodeled and enlarged in the summer of 2012. (right) An architect’s drawing of the new bowling facilities scheduled to open during the winter of 2014 in the remodeled Recreation Center.
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A state-of-the-art video board will now inform and entertain basketball fans in historic Memorial Gymnasium, regarded by purists as one of college basketball’s best venues.
By the fall of 2013, the women’s and men’s golf teams are anticipating sparkling new facilities at the Vanderbilt Legends Club which will include a spacious clubhouse with state-of-the-art locker rooms and a modern hitting bay for specialized practice.
Development The National Commodore Club reached high-water marks not seen in 18 years during its 2011–12 fiscal year. Overall giving to athletics was $14.3 million while unrestricted annual gifts constituted $3.27 M of that total. Over 5,800 individuals and companies made financial gifts to Vanderbilt Athletics. $3.27M
$3.2M $3.0M
$2.92M
$2.9M
$2.8M
$2.75M
$2.7M
2009
2010
$2.6M $2.4M $2.2M $2.0M $1.8M
2008
2011
2012
NCC Unrestricted Giving $15.1M
$16.0M
$14.3M
$14.0M $12.0M $10.0M $8.0M
$9.0M
$8.1M $5.6M
$6.0M $4.0M $2.0M
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
NCC Athletics Giving 1,480
1,500 1,300 1,042
1,100 900
882
700
669
590
2009
2010
500 300 100
2008
2011
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2012
Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos and Vice Chancellors David Williams and Jerry Fife personally thanked major donors to the multipurpose facility at the 2012 South Carolina football game. Among the major donors were all four of Vanderbilt’s revenue sport coaches - James Franklin, Tim Corbin, Melanie Balcomb and Kevin Stallings. Williams was also a major donor to the project.
Financial Health Plant Expense Other Income 5%
Revenue (FY12)
Sponsorship
Expenses (FY12)
Supplies & expenses
6%
11%
Debt service & Reserves
Ticket income 13%
5%
3%
Gifts
Salaries 39%
7%
Endowment income
University investment
4%
Scholarships 23%
29%
SEC revenue 39%
Recruiting, uniforms & team travel
Athletic’s 2012 Revenues In 000’s 10%
Game Expenses & Guarantees 6%
The FUTURE
Embracing a Higher Education Vanderbilt was founded on the steadfast principle of providing academic excellence and opportunity to its student body and that commitment continues to drive the university’s compass. Accordingly, no day is more special on campus than Commencement. Vanderbilt student-athletes are reminded from their first day on campus that “winning both ways” — athletically and academically — is the primary goal. When they hear their names called at graduation and walk that coveted stage to receive their hard-earned diploma it represents the intersection of today and tomorrow. It is a special place.
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Academic Excellence During 2011–12, Vanderbilt student-athletes combined to earn a cumulative 3.091 grade point average, the department’s all-time best. SEC champion women’s cross country has the best team GPA at 3.562 and all but three teams achieved a 3.0 or higher GPA for the entire year. There were some notable team improvements during the year; football earned a 2.877, women’s basketball topped 3.0 with its 3.019 and the women’s track and field team had a splendid 3.261. COMMODORE GPA AVG Baseball....................... 3.003 Men’s basketball...... 2.542 Women’s basketball................... 3.019 Bowling........................ 3.171 Men’s cross country............. 3.432 Women’s cross country............. 3.562 Football........................ 2.877 Men’s golf................... 3.153 Women’s golf............. 3.348 Lacrosse...................... 3.352 Soccer.......................... 3.248 Swimming................... 3.352 Men’s tennis.............. 2.992 Women’s tennis........ 3.160 Track and field........... 3.261
175 Commodores, 55 percent of the total student-athlete population, made the SEC’s academic honor roll during the year.
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Team Trips Abroad
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anderbilt University believes its students should have the opportunity to expand their horizons by seeing other parts of the world and the Department of Student Athletics has been a national leader in creating such opportunities. Despite the rigors of nearly year-round training and competition in most sports, Vanderbilt has found creative ways for nearly every varsity team to make at least one international trip over a four- or five-year period. In July 2012 it was the bowling team’s turn. The team stopped in Paris for several days while making their way to Italy, where they stayed in Rome before making their way north to Florence and two days of competition with
the Italian National team. At each destination, the team learned about the city and country from expert tour guides and academics, fulfilling the objective of making the trips more about education than the competition itself.
Study Abroad In keeping with the theme to experience new places, the Department of Student Athletics sent 11 student-athletes to five foreign countries for study opportunities during the summer of 2012. Breaking that total down, the traveling Commodores were from eight sports—soccer, football, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, track, swimming and lacrosse. Destination locations were France, Scotland, Spain, Greece and Switzerland.
Team Reviews
Women’s Cross Country • The team broke into the national conversation at the Wisconsin–Adidas Invitational midyear with a second-place finish, defeating 19 teams ranked in the top 30 and claiming the No. 3 spot in the national poll. • Commodores placed their five scoring runners in the top nine finishers at the SEC Championship meet, winning their firstever conference title with a low 30 points (15 points is the lowest possible). Six of seven runners were named to All-SEC teams. • The Commodores finished sixth overall after earning their first team invite to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. • Alexa Rogers was named an All-American, the program’s first.
Men’s Cross Country • The team posted a 3.46 cumulative GPA. • Top 10 team finishes at the Belmont Opener, Commodore Classic and Greater Louisville Classic were highlights of the season. • Senior Kyle Rewick set a school record in the 5K (14:49.34) at the Vanderbilt Invitational.
Women’s Basketball • The team won at least 20 games and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 13th straight season (the eighth longest streak in the nation).
Football • The Commodores’ appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl was the second bowl berth in four years for Vanderbilt. • The huge turnout of Commodore fans nearly filled the Liberty Bowl for the team’s postseason appearance. • Zac Stacy set the school’s single-season rushing record. • Stacy, Casey Hayward, Chris Marve and Tim Fugger earned All-SEC recognition. • The team won convincing victories over Ole Miss, Kentucky and Wake Forest. • Vanderbilt opened the season with three straight wins, including victories over 2010 BCS bowl participant UConn and Ole Miss. • The Commodores won five games in Vanderbilt Stadium, the most in more than a decade.
• Vanderbilt was ranked among SEC leaders in big-play offensive statistics. • The Commodores’ upbeat season led to one of the top recruiting classes in team history.
Soccer • Freshman Gena Inbusch scored the golden goal in OT to hand LSU its first SEC loss of the year. • Senior Candace West was named an NSCAA All-South Region selection. • Cherelle Jarrett was recognized on the SEC All-Freshman team. • Derek Greene was officially appointed head coach following the season. • West and fellow senior Emily Grant shared team MVP honors. Junior C.J. Rhoades was named Defensive MVP.
• Christina Foggie led the team, winning Vanderbilt’s first SEC scoring title since 1991 after averaging 17.9 points per game during the regular season. • The Commodores also had the league leader in assists, as Jasmine Lister posted 5.3 per game. • Five Commodores earned All-SEC honors on the year: Christina Foggie, Tiffany Clarke, Jasmine Lister, Stephanie Holzer and Kady Schrann. • Vanderbilt scored a trio of upsets over top 15 teams at home, beating Oklahoma, Georgia and Tennessee on their way to an 18-2 mark at Memorial Gym on the year.
Men’s Basketball • The Commodores advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season for the first time in school history. • The team defeated No. 1 Kentucky in the finals of the SEC Championship to claim the SEC Tournament title for the first time since 1951. • John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor were named to the All-SEC first team. Jenkins made the first team for the second consecutive season, and Taylor was also named to the All-Defensive team, his third consecutive selection. Jenkins
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was the first Vanderbilt player since Billy McCaffrey (1993 and 1994) to be named to consecutive first teams. • Jenkins’ and Taylor’s selection to the first team was the first time the Commodores had two players on the first team since 1989, when Barry Goheen and Frank Kornet were selected. • Jenkins was named as an Associated Press Third Team All-American. • Taylor left Vanderbilt as the school’s second all-time leading scorer, behind Shan Foster, with 1,897 career points.
• Jenkins’ 696 points is second all-time on Vanderbilt’s single-season scoring list, behind Billy McCaffrey’s 699 points in 1992–93. • Vanderbilt’s 25 wins were the most since the 2007–08 season and the second-highest win total since the 1992–93 season. • The Commodores were the only team in the SEC to sport three 1,000-point scorers: Taylor, Jenkins and Brad Tinsley.
• Commodore bowlers won three major tournaments and were in the top four in eight of nine events. • Brittni Hamilton earned first-team All-America for the third time and was an academic All-American for the first time. • Jessica Earnest and Samantha Hesley were second- and third-team AllAmericans respectively. • Hamilton notched the program’s firstever 300 game during the season.
• Kevin Stallings leads all Vanderbilt coaches with seven 20-win seasons. • The Commodores’ seven 20-win seasons in the last nine years ranks third in the SEC.
Bowling • The team capped its year with a longanticipated team trip to Paris, Rome and Florence, where the Commodores defeated the Italian National team. • The Commodores finished the regular season as an NCAA Championship semi-finalist. • The team was rated in the top 10 all season.
Swimming • The Commodores picked up their first win of the year by defeating Marshall. • VU also scored a dual meet win at Arkansas–Little Rock. It marked the second time since the resurrection of the program that Vanderbilt had multiple wins in a season. • The 200 medley relay team set a school record at the SEC Championships, with a unit of Chrissy Oberg, Elizabeth Brunk, Lauren Torres and Caroline Thomas. • Seven of the team’s best event times of the season came at the SEC Championships.
Lacrosse • Senior All-American Ally Carey was named to the 24-player Team USA roster for this summer along with assistant coach Amber Falcone.
Women’s Golf • Vanderbilt placed 11th at the NCAA Championship held at Vanderbilt Legends Club. • Senior Marina Alex and junior Lauren Stratton were named first-team AllAmericans.
• The team opened the season with a 7-5 win over No. 5 Duke. • Natalie Wills earned American Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance against the Blue Devils. • All-American Ally Carey was named ALC Offensive Player of the Week after wins over Canisius and No. 18 Boston College. • Kacie Connors was named ALC Offensive MVP after scoring a careerhigh six points in a victory over league rival Johns Hopkins.
• Alex was named the SEC Player of the Year for the second time. She also won in 2010. • Vanderbilt resided in the top 10 for most of the season, with senior Marina Alex and junior Lauren Stratton also placing in the individual top 10 for most of the year.
• Alex had a season-low round of 65 at the Stanford Intercollegiate, equaling a Vanderbilt record shared by Alex and Megan Grehan. • Alex had four top 10 finishes in 2011–12 and two top fives, while Stratton had three top 10 finishes and one top 10.
Men’s Golf • Scott Limbaugh became the program’s head coach in June 2012. He came from Alabama where he had helped shape a championship program over five years.
• The Commodores did not finish lower than ninth in seven tournaments while placing fourth or better four times. • Alex led the team in stroke average with 72.1 while Stratton was second at 72.4.
• Adam Hofmann and Trey DelGreco were the team’s leading players in 2011–12. • Vanderbilt had a season-best fourthplace finish at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate. • Freshman Hunter Stewart had the team’s best round, firing a 66 in the third round of the Mason Rudolph Championship. • The Commodores posted a season-low team total of 280 in the third round of the Mason Rudolph Championship. • Vanderbilt also finished fifth at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate with sophomore Charlie Ewing posting a career-best seventh-place finish. • Commodores were third at the Arkansas State Red Wolves Invitational.
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• The team won two big conference victories back to back over South Carolina and Alabama. • The win over South Carolina gave the team their first SEC victory. • Against Alabama, the ’Dores again lost the doubles point, but streaked back, taking singles matches for the 5-2 win.
Women’s Tennis • Jackie Wu won the ITA Ohio Valley Regional, earning a trip to the ITA Indoor Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. • The team opened the season with a five-match winning streak, and shut out their opponents in the first two conference matches, sweeping Arkansas and LSU. • VU hosted one of the toughest ITA Kickoff sites against the highly ranked Arizona, Texas and Alabama teams. Vanderbilt beat Arizona to make it to the Championship round. • The ’Dores picked up a big conference win against Tennessee to close March with a 6-1 win.
Men’s Tennis • Charlie Jones was named the SEC men’s tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year. • Jones played three marathon matches in a row at the ITA All Americans tournament in the fall, making his way to the Round of 16 before withdrawing. • Freshman Gonzales Austin (AJ) won seven straight matches early in the season. It marked a team high.
• Meagan Martin and Morgan Toone became Vanderbilt’s top two pole vaulters. After Toone established a record of 12 feet 9.5 inches at Georgia Tech, Martin topped that mark by clearing 13 feet 0.25 inches at the SEC Championships to finish eighth. Martin was not the only jumper to earn a top 10 finish at the SEC meet, as high-jumper Ellie Tidman placed sixth, jumping 5 feet 9.25 inches.
Baseball • The team finished as runner-up in NCAA Raleigh Regional, going 35-28.
Track and Field • Kristen Findley set a school record in the outdoor 1,500 meters at the SEC Championships, placing fourth with a mark of 4:16.57. Findley, a walk-on, missed a trip to the NCAA Championships in the event by .16 seconds. • Jordan White earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors after posting a 3.89 GPA and posting top 10 finishes at the SEC Championships in the indoor 3,000 meters, indoor distance medley relay and outdoor 5,000 meters. • Liz Anderson, Jordan White and Louise Hannallah all ran the indoor 3,000 meters faster than anyone in school history. Anderson now holds the school record at 9:24.04, followed by White at 9:32.00 and Hannallah at 9:35.96.
• The Commodores played in the SEC Tournament Championship game for the sixth time in nine trips under Corbin. • Vanderbilt landed back-to-back (2011, 2012) top-ranked recruiting classes according to Baseball America, consensus (BA, Collegiate Baseball) top class in 2012. • Five former Commodores played major league baseball in 2012 (David Price, Pedro Alvarez, Mike Minor, Mike Baxter, Ryan Flaherty) and 33 played professionally in the minor leagues. • Six Commodores were selected in the MLB Draft. • A new synthetic playing surface was installed over the summer, the only synthetic surface in the SEC.
Community Service H Vanderbilt student-athletes donated
H The Department of Student Athletics
2,931 hours of their valuable time to help make the Nashville area community better. This averages to about 10 hours per Commodore throughout the school year.
compliance office also began a community service seminar aimed at helping high school counselors, coaches and parents of prospective collegiate student-athletes. Three members from our compliance staff donated several hours on a Saturday morning to educate interested parties in a variety of NCAA-related topics ranging from the differences in the various NCAA divisions to academic eligibility requirements to basic recruiting protocols. The session was intended to be useful for key constituencies not necessarily in the normal NCAA communications loop and not geared to promoting Vanderbilt athletics.
H Among the students’ service projects were visits to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, reading to elementary children, hosting a field day for inner-city youngsters, coordinating a canned food drive, trick or treating, autograph sessions at the Max Nance Kids Zone, serving meals to the homeless, helping an immigrant family learn English, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Room in the Inn, Alive Hospice, Veterans Hospital, Vanderbilt Playbuddies and a number of others.
H In conjunction with Athletes for America, Vanderbilt trainer Shannon Gordon organized a day (Sept. 10, 2011) in which more than 300 collegiate, high school and professional athletes were trained in CPR and the use of AEDs. Vanderbilt athletics also donated the facility fees and labor necessary to produce a first-class learning event.
H Vanderbilt athletics partners with many community organizations and assists with many quality community activities and events every year, including Special Olympics, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Salvation Army Angel Tree, Ronald McDonald House, elementary school and youth program fundraisers, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Heart Walk, YMCA’s Mentor Tennisee and the Shade Tree Trot. 32
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Staff News and Achievements Steven Keith was named the SEC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading his team to its first league championship ever. Keith, a Vanderbilt graduate himself, has steadily improved the program since coming from Alabama six years ago. After the ’Dores won the conference championship they finished sixth at the NCAA Championship, also a high-water mark. Associate Director of Athletics and Director of Compliance Candice Lee earned her doctorate in higher education administration in May and was inducted into her high school’s Hall of Fame in September. She is a Vanderbilt basketball letter winner (fans will remember her as Candice Storey) and was a past Alabama High School Player of the Year. Scott Limbaugh was named Head Men’s Golf Coach in June. Limbaugh had been the assistant coach at Alabama the past five years when the Crimson Tide enjoyed one of the most dominant runs in collegiate golf. Within a month of the new season’s start, Limbaugh directed Vanderbilt to a win at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Director of Athletics David Williams is serving on two prominent NCAA policy committees. He serves as chair of the NCAA’s Infraction Appeals Committee, is a member of the NCAA Academic Cabinet and is heavily involved with NCAA reform working groups. Long-time training table chef and unofficial “Food Coach” Majid Noori has been nationally honored several times. A book Eating to Win with America’s No. 1 Food Coach was published in September 2012.
Tim Corbin serves as president of the American Baseball Coaches Association. John Williamson is secretary of the collegiate bowling coaches association, the National Ten Pin Coaches Association. Steve Walsh (director of sales and marketing) earned his master’s degree from Belmont University. Gina Owens (business manager) earned her master of business administration from Lipscomb. Director of Broadcasting Joe Fisher serves on the board of directors at the Rochelle Center, which offers meaningful opportunities to disabled adults and their families, so they can achieve their goals for quality lives and community inclusion and has an on-going relationship with Antioch Hospitality Academy, an organization that emphasizes job preparation for high school students. Steven Keith is the South Region representative for the women’s cross country committee on the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Alumni in the Spotlight Brandt Snedeker (’03) was on top of the golf world after winning the 2012 FedEx Cup. Snedeker, a member of the search committee that selected Scott Limbaugh as Vanderbilt’s new men’s golf coach, was a member of the United States’ prestigious Ryder Cup team for the first time.
David Price, college baseball’s Player of the Year in 2007, was a Cy Young Trophy contender as the ace for the Tampa Bay Rays. Price is active in community service off the diamond with his “Project One Four” foundation. Jay Cutler (’06) is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears, one of four former Commodores on the team. Seven other former Vanderbilt student-athletes are active in the NFL. David Neal (’93, football) is living in Alpharetta, Ga., and is regional director for operations serving Canada and the United States for Georgia Pacific. Jacqui Concolino (’08) made her debut on the LPGA Tour in 2012.
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Chris Marve (’12, football) is serving with Teach for America for one year before entering Vanderbilt Law School. Corey Harris (’91) and Drew Maddux (’98) were Vanderbilt’s SEC Living Legends at the 2011 SEC Football Championship and 2012 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Perry Wallace (’70) continues in the spotlight while serving as a professor of law at The American University in Washington, D.C. Wallace, a Vanderbilt and Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee among many honors, broke the color barrier for Southeastern Conference basketball in 1966.
Jeff Taylor was a second round NBA pick by Charlotte.
Carolyn Peck (’88) carries a high profile with her role as a women’s basketball commentator on ESPN. She represented Vanderbilt at the 2012 SEC Tournament as an “SEC Great.”
Josie Earnest (’10) established herself as one of the world’s best bowlers with a fifth-place finish in the Queens Championship and her Gold Medal performance on Team USA at the Pan American Bowling Confederation. Earnest is a Vanderbilt assistant coach. Lamar Alexander (‘62, track) is the senior United States senator from Tennessee. A member of Vanderbilt’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Alexander has also served as the state’s governor and the Secretary of Education.
Festus Ezeli (’12) was a first round pick in the 2012 NBA draft, going to the Golden State Warriors. He was a Vanderbilt fan favorite throughout his college career. John Jenkins (right) is in his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.
Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. “Vanderbilt� and the Vanderbilt logo are registered trademarks and service marks of Vanderbilt University. Produced by Vanderbilt University Creative Services and Vanderbilt Printing Services, 2012. This publication is recyclable. Please recycle it.
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