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Stadium update
As kickoff of the 2002 football season nears, OSU also draws closer
to announcing plans for the expansion and renovation of Reser Stadium.
As summer winds down, a design that will add approximately 10,000 seats
is being finalized, and details of financing options are being worked
out.
What won’t change until at least 2038 is the stadium’s name.
In July, the Reser family made the largest donation ever to OSU athletics
— $12.5 million — to keep the family’s name on the stadium
through 2038. Al and Pat Reser — OSU alumni and owners of Reser’s
Fine Foods — had donated $5 million to the athletic department
in 1999, and the stadium name was changed from Parker Stadium then.
The agreement surrounding the original donation was that the stadium
would be called Reser Stadium for 10 years; at the end of that time,
another donation would extend the name. The Resers decided to make the
second donation ahead of schedule.
"They needed money to do this addition, and by us stepping up and
exercising the balance of the option, it gave them a considerable amount
of cash over the next five years," Al Reser told The Oregonian.
The renovation and expansion of Reser Stadium will push capacity to
approximately 45,000 seats; OSU sold out all 35,362 seats for all its
home games in 2001 and expects to sell out all home games this fall.
The work will also add more skyboxes and improve the concourses, concession
areas, restrooms and media facilities.
The proposed design and a construction timetable could be made this
fall.
Sports briefs
Gutches joins wrestling staff:
World champion and two-time NCAA champion Les
Gutches, ’97, has rejoined Oregon State’s wrestling staff
as an assistant coach, OSU head coach Joe Wells announced in mid-June.
Gutches, 29, spent last season as a volunteer assistant with the Beavers
after retiring from competition; he was also a full-time assistant
at OSU from 1996 to 1999.
Gutches won NCAA titles at 177 pounds for OSU in 1995 and 1996, was
a three-time Academic All-America and won the World Freestyle Championship
at 187.3 pounds in 1997. He replaces Dan Hicks on OSU’s staff;
Hicks, another two-time NCAA champ for OSU, was hired as head coach
at Cal State-Fullerton.
"We’re fortunate to have Les rejoin our coaching staff on
a full-time basis," Wells said. "He’s been involved
with wrestling at the highest levels in the world, and our athletes
benefit from the experience he brings into our room. And he’s
demonstrated the ability to coach wrestling, to get his point across
clearly to another athlete and make him better."
In addition to his previous coaching experience at OSU, Gutches was
an assistant coach on the United States National Team at the 2002
Freestyle World Cup; the U.S. won the team title at that meet. Gutches
is a USA Wrestling-certified coach at the Bronze level and has worked
at a number of elite camps and clinics across the country.
Reischman resigns:
After guiding Oregon State’s heavyweight eight
to a fourth-place national finish this spring and again putting the
Beavers in the top 10 in the team standings at the Intercollegiate Rowing
Association championships, men’s crew coach Dave Reischman resigned
in June to become head coach at Syracuse.
"The decision to leave the athletes I coach at Oregon State was
one of the hardest of my life," said Reischman. "In the end,
the chance to coach at Syracuse and the challenge of increasing the
speed of the program was just too inviting to turn down."
Cowan receives Arch Award
Oregon State sports information director Hal Cowan
was named the 2001-02 recipient of the Arch Ward Award, given annually
by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The award is
presented to a CoSIDA member who has made outstanding contributions
to the field of college sports information and who, by his or her activities,
has brought dignity and prestige to the profession.
Cowan has been at OSU since 1976 and has been a member of CoSIDA for
35 years. Among those who worked for Cowan while students at Oregon
State are Scott Johnson, ’84, now athletic director at Fresno State;
Shawn Schoeffler, ’93, now vice president for media relations for
the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl; Cliff Voliva,’82, sports information
director at Willamette University; and Scott Ball, ’87, assistant
sports information director at California.
For reviews of spring sports, outlooks for fall sports and complete
information on Oregon State athletics, visit the OSU athletic department
Web site at www.osubeavers.com
Beavers look
to better season in 2002
By Kip Carlson
One grew up within sight of the lights of the Strip
in Las Vegas; the other grew up near the banks of the Columbia River
in Scappoose. One has spent two seasons working his way into a leadership
role on Oregon State’s football team; the other is being thrust
into that spot this fall. One’s out to smack somebody on every
snap; the other’s aim is to avoid taking that smacking.
Richard Seigler and Derek Anderson have plenty of differences, but they’ve
got something important in common when it comes to OSU’s 2002 football
fortunes — draw up the formations, and they’re literally the
men in the middle of the Beavers’ plans.
And the junior middle linebacker and sophomore quarterback provide a
good illustration as to what Oregon State will field on each side of
the ball when the Beavers kick off against Eastern Kentucky on Aug.
29 at Reser Stadium.
Seigler, in his third season as a starter, is a mainstay on an experienced
defense that could be one of the best in the Pacific-10, if not the
nation. Anderson becomes a starter this season after being the backup
a year ago as a true freshman; the former high school All-American is
one of several young but talented players on offense whose development
will be crucial to the Beavers returning to a bowl game.
"We are a football team that I believe is going to be dominant
on defense," said OSU head coach Dennis Erickson, whose team is
ranked 25th in the preseason by The Sporting News. "Our offense
is going to take a little time to get together."
Seigler, who earned freshman All-America honors in 2000 and then ranked
fifth in the Pac-10 in tackles as a sophomore, sees a defense that will
live up to Erickson’s expectations. OSU has one of the best defensive
tackle tandems in the country in Dwan Edwards and Eric Manning, linebacker
Nick Barnett is coming off two strong seasons, and practically the entire
secondary returns.
"I see a lot of hungry, talented individuals who really are trying
to come out and get our swagger back," Seigler said. "It’s
going to be important for the defense to give the offense time to grow,
so we have to be sure we’re in shape for the first couple of games
and that we come in and execute the scheme, and everything will take
care of itself."
A look at the number of OSU players working out on Prothro Field during
evenings in July is convincing evidence that the Beavers learned something
from last season’s slow start and 5-6 season.
"We were unprepared last season when we came in against Fresno
State; we had a big head and it showed," Seigler said of the 44-24
season-opening loss. "The bottom line is, we don’t want to
lose. We don’t like the sour taste that’s left in our mouths
still, and we really sent our seniors out on a bad note … it’s
embarrassing. To go to the Fiesta Bowl (after the 2000 season) and live
that kind of life, like champions, and go back to being nothing. We
went from nothing to champions to nothing, and that’s not what
we want to be. We want to stay champions."
Anderson may have less experience than some others on OSU’s offense,
but he’s the quarterback, and …
"Being a quarterback, the leadership role comes with it,"
Anderson said. "I’ve just got to go out and try to lead the
troops, do my best. The first couple games might be a little rough,
but I’m going to keep plugging away at it and do my best."
Having played in five games last season as a true freshman should help
Anderson. So will having Steven Jackson, another sophomore who turned
in an outstanding freshman season at tailback, and an offensive line
and receiving corps that improved as last season went on.
"I think our offense could be very good," Anderson said. "Definitely,
Steve is going to be real good for us. Our O-line is going to have to
come together for us in fall camp; we’ve got some new guys in there
but I think we did real well in the spring. It’s all out there;
we just have to work hard and see where it ends up."
A detailed look at Oregon State’s season with comments from coach
Dennis Erickson — and the rest of OSU’s 2002 football guide
— can be found on the OSU athletics Web site: www.osubeavers.com
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Barnhart leaves
Mitch Barnhart, Oregon State’s athletic
director since February 1998, left OSU on July 15 to become
athletic director at Kentucky. OSU President Paul Risser immediately
launched a national search to replace Barnhart and hoped to
have a final candidate by the end of August.
Risser appointed Barnhart to become Oregon State’s 11th
athletic director on Feb. 12, 1998. Before coming to OSU, Barnhart
spent 12 years at the University of Tennessee athletic department
where he developed a solid background in marketing and fund
raising.
At OSU, Barnhart led an effort that reduced the athletic department’s
debt, increased donations from boosters, and built new facilities.
With the recent success and national prominence of OSU’s
athletic programs, Risser said the position of athletic director
at Oregon State should attract top-notch applicants.
In addition to his success at OSU, Barnhart has been active
in NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference committees. He currently is
a member of the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, plus he
serves on five different Pac-10 Conference committees, including
serving as chair of the conference’s Men’s Basketball
Tournament Committee.
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One man’s humble opinion
In less than a year, Mike Thurman has been on both
shores of the gulf between major league baseball’s "haves"
and "have-nots." It’s only 315 miles from Montreal to
the Bronx; a player might be staying in the same time zone as he makes
the trip but he’s going from one baseball world to another.
Montreal faced having its Expos eliminated before this season began
(it could still happen after the season), no new owner for the team
could be found so MLB is running the club in 2001.The city’s passion
is hockey, and crowds at Olympic Stadium frequently number fewer than
10,000.
In New York, the Yankees are historically baseball’s most successful
franchise and have won four of the last six World Series. They own the
sporting spotlight in the nation’s largest city, and they attract
a rabid, demanding group of followers to Yankee Stadium night after
night.
Thurman, who helped pitch Oregon State to a Northern Division championship
in 1994, played for the Expos from 1997 to 2001. After last season,
he signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent; Thurman began the
season with New York’s AAA minor league team in Columbus, Ohio,
before being called up to the majors in late May.
On Memorial Day, Thurman became the first of OSU’s 16 major leaguers
ever to appear in Yankee pinstripes, starting against the Chicago White
Sox at Comiskey Park. In his debut, the 29-year-old right-hander went
seven innings to earn the win.
"We were back in New York for about three days before I made my
second start there," Thurman said. "In that time, I was recognized
several times on the subway, and at games people in the stands were
yelling, ‘Hey, Mikey — way to go! Great game the other day!
Go get ‘em tomorrow!’
"People are much more aware of what’s going on with the Yankees
than people in Montreal were with the Expos. I was rarely recognized
on the subway in Montreal; if I was, people wouldn’t say anything
because it was, ‘Oh, he plays for the Expos.’"
Yeah, it’s not like he plays hockey for the Canadiens or anything.
Thurman was sent back to Columbus in late June, when several pitchers
rejoined the Yankees after recovering from injuries. In his month with
the Yankees, though, he got a good look at how different the majors
can be.
"If I’m pitching that day, I’m not aware of what’s
going on in the stands or what the atmosphere is," Thurman said.
"But if I’m in the bullpen and watching the game, there’s
no way to really compare the two places. Once or twice a year in Montreal,
we’d get some pretty electric crowds — maybe the people weren’t
aware of what was going on in the game, but they were loud and excited
in general because there were a lot of people there.
"Yankee Stadium has a unique feeling. You think about the history
that’s gone on there, and the players who are there, and (Yankee
manager) Joe Torre demands a lot of respect. It’s not intimidating,
but you walk through there a little more cautiously and you’re
trying to do everything right because you know there are a lot of eyes
on you."
The experience with the Yankees has been everything Thurman thought
it could be.
"It exceeded my expectations," Thurman said. "I spent
the first 11ž2 months of the season in AAA and I was feeling frustrated
with that, feeling I belonged in the big leagues — and I still
feel that way. At certain points, I was thinking, ‘What have I
got to do to get out of here?’
"But finally getting called up and experiencing all of that, putting
on the Yankee uniform and all those other things — it was well
worth it. I hope I get the opportunity again soon."
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