446 Other University Components Intercollegiate Athletics— Men and Women Athletics Director: Rance Pugmire In the decade of the 1990’s, Utah State has claimed 25 Big Office in Spectrum Addition 202 West team championships. tel. (435) 797-1850 The Utah State football program has proved to be a breeding ground for NFL talent, sending numerous players to the profes- Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal sional ranks in recent years. Since 1980, more than 40 former Operations: Mary Ellen Cloninger Aggies have seen action in the NFL, along with a number of play- Senior Associate Athletics Director for Business Affairs: ers who have played for Canadian Football League teams. Kenneth A. Peterson The Aggies finished the 1999 football season tied for third in Associate Athletics Director for External Operations: the Big West Conference, which included winning their last two Kevin Dustin games of the season on the road. Utah State competed in the inau- Assistant Athletics Director, Head Trainer: gural Humanitarian Bowl in 1997. Dale Mildenberger The USU men’s outdoor track and field team has finished first Assistant Athletics Director, Media Relations: Mike Strauss or second at the Big West Championship in seven straight years, Assistant Athletics Director, Academic Services: while the cross-country team has finished among the top four for Brian Evans eight years. These two programs have combined for eight league Assistant Athletics Director, Marketing and Promotions: titles since 1992. Michelle S. Wilson On the women’s side, USU’s cross-country teams have fin- Director of Development: Kenneth L. Beazer ished in the top five of the league meet in seven straight years, Assistant for Special Projects and Events: with a runner-up finish in 1997 and a league title in 1998, while F. Ross Peterson the outdoor track and field team has claimed seven straight Big Strength and Conditioning: Shawn Griswold West Championships. Equipment Supervisor: Mike Bair USU’s women’s soccer program began competition in 1996 Compliance Coordinator: Lucy Stolpe and has shown solid improvement each year, tying for fourth in Faculty Representative: Kenneth L. White the Big West Conference this past season. In the 1999 season, the USU volleyball program took first Head Coaches: place in the eastern division of the Big West Conference. The Basketball: Stew Morrill team finished with a record of 14-12 overall and 11-5 in confer- Football: Mick Dennehy ence play. Golf: Dean Johansen Since 1970, the USU basketball team has competed in the Gymnastics: Ray Corn NCAA Tournament eight times, including during 1998, and in the Soccer: Jennifer Kennedy Croft National Invitational Tournament three times, including the 1995 Softball: Debbie Bilbao season. USU won a Big West Championship in 1998. Tennis: Chris Wright The basketball team posted a 15-13 record in 1999 and tied for Track: Gregg Gensel fourth in the Big West Conference. The Aggies’ 72 Big West wins Volleyball: Burton L. Fuller from 1994-98 were the most earned by any league team in that time period. The Intercollegiate Athletics program at Utah State University USU’s gymnastics program, annually ranked among the na- encourages excellence in academic and athletic performance. The tion’s best, sent teams to NCAA regional competition 21 times in program is designed to develop qualities of leadership, sportsman- the last 22 years and advanced to the NCAA Championship five ship, and individuality, helping each student-athlete to realize his times. The Aggies placed second in the Big West Conference in or her ultimate capabilities. 1999 and placed third in the Region Two meet, which was held Utah State’s Intercollegiate Athletics operates under the direc- on the USU campus. tion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the The softball team competes in one of the nation’s toughest Big West Conference, and Utah State University. The Aggies leagues and has finished among the top four in that league five of compete at the NCAA Division I Level in 15 sports, including the last eight years, including claiming a league title in 1993. The football, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and Aggies won national championships in 1980 and 1981. women’s cross country, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s in- USU’s golf team finished fourth at the 1997 Big West Cham- door track and field, women’s gymnastics, softball, men’s golf, pionship, its best finish since 1981. men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track While Utah State claimed three team Big West Championships and field. and two runner-up finishes in 1998-99, several Aggies made their The Aggies have a storied history, gaining national attention in mark individually. Six USU student-athletes earned athletic recent years in a number of different sports. All-America honors, while 25 student-athletes were named to Intercollegiate Athletics 447 first-team all-conference in their respective sports and 14 were in- Participation. As members of the Big West Conference, the dividual conference champions. Aggies play conference schedules in basketball, football, softball, and volleyball. The conference winner in these sports earns an au- In the classroom, USU produced a league-best 53 academic tomatic bid to NCAA post-season play, with the exception of all-Big West honorees. In 1998 Heather Marcum, a member of the football. The conference winner in football earns a berth in the track team, picked up the Robbins Award as the entire school’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. In addition, conference Scholar-of-the-Year. championships are held in cross-country, golf, tennis, and outdoor Aggies earning athletic All-America honors included Corey track and field. The gymnastics team will contend for post-season Murdock and James Parker in both indoor and outdoor track, as participation via the NCAA Region Two Championships. well as Shae Jones-Bair in indoor and Jane Durfey in outdoor Intercollegiate Athletics track. Facilities. Excellent training and competition facilities are pro- In 1997, a school record eight football players earned vided in all sports. first-team all-Big West honors. Defensive end Ben Crosland was E.L. “Dick” Romney Stadium, home of the Aggie football named the Big West Defensive Player-of-the-Year and earned team for more than 30 years, seats 30,257 cheering fans each third-team All-America honors from The Sporting News maga- week during the season. In an effort to update the facility, a zine. USU added seven more first-team picks in 1998, as well as a state-of-the-art lighting system was installed prior to the 1993 sea- second-straight league defensive player-of-the-year in Tony son and chair-back seating was added ahead of the 1997 season. D’Amato. The 1999 season saw expanded seating, two new scoreboards, and USU volleyball player Denae Mohlman was named the Big an improved sound system. Future plans for Romney Stadium in- West Freshman-of-the-Year and was a first-team all-conference clude expanding seating capacity to 40,000 seats and the construc- selection in 1998. tion of a multi-storied complex at the south end of the stadium to consolidate academic support to the student-athletes. Future plans Basketball player Marcus Saxon earned first-team all-Big also include the expansion of the press box with the installation of West honors in 1997 and 1998, while in 1999 Donnie Johnson two elevators. was a second-team pick, Troy Rolle an honorable mention selec- tion, and Tony Brown was named to the Big West all-freshman Basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball are played in the team. beautiful 10,270-seat Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Basketball and volleyball practices are held in the Spectrum, while the HPER The track teams saw Corey Murdock, James Parker, and Jane Building is the practice home for the gymnastics team. The re- Durfey earn two Big West individual titles apiece, while other in- cently renovated gymnastics practice gym has been labeled as one dividual champions included Mike Cosgrave, Bill Graves, Shelley of the nation’s finest, complete with vaulting pits and foam-spring Grupe, and Charlotte Wahlin. exercise floor. Softball player Sandy Millard was named first-team all-Big The $4.4 million Stan Laub Indoor Training Facility is one of West after hitting 10 home runs. Tennis saw five diffferent play- the finest facilities in the nation. The building features a 95-yard ers earn academic all-Big West honors, while the golf team had football field that is regulation width and a vaulted ceiling that three players named to that squad as well. reaches 78 feet high. The building is perfect for off-season condi- The USU gymnastics program continued to have individual tioning for all of Utah State’s sports. success with Christy Denson winning the league all-around and The Nelson Fieldhouse is the home of the Aggie indoor track balance beam titles, Jessenia Abrego claiming the vault, and Am- and field teams. The teams practice on a 200-meter tartan track. ber Jamison winning the bars. Jamison advanced to the NCAA For the outdoor season, a newly resurfaced and renovated Ralph Championships as an individual. Maughan Stadium is the home for the men’s and women’s track USU has a strong history of athletic success. Among these suc- teams. cessful athletes is Merlin Olsen, who won the Outland Trophy The women’s softball team plays its home games at Johnson awarded to the nation’s top lineman in 1961. Olsen, who was se- Field, a new on-campus facility. The women’s soccer team cur- lected into the NFL Hall-of-Fame, was also an academic rently competes on campus while a new field for their use is cur- All-American.