Chapman’s Search for Basketball Coach Begins After Delay

The search for a new men’s basketball coach at Chapman officially began Monday after a two-week delay caused by a major change of direction.

The delay was made necessary because two days after the university announced that Coach Bob Boyd’s three-year contract would not be renewed, Chapman announced it would be moving from the NCAA’s Division II to Division III and dropping its athletic scholarships after next season.

A new job description was released Monday, and Chapman Athletic Director Dave Currey said Wednesday he had already received between 10 and 20 applications.

Currey declined to name any applicants but said the pool includes coaches with experience at the high school, Division II and Division III levels.

“We’d like for him to be someone on the way up,” Currey said. “Someone who has better coaching days ahead of him.”

Currey said he is in the process of forming a six-member committee that will screen the applicants and help him make the decision. Although there is no timetable, Currey said he hopes to have a new coach hired before the end of the signing period in mid-May. Technically, a new coach couldn’t be hired until after March 31, the day Boyd’s contract expires.

The new coach will face the task of replacing the Panthers’ entire front line, including all-time leading scorer Rog Middleton, without the benefit of scholarships. Chapman, which won only seven games in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. in three seasons under Boyd, will play in the CCAA next season.

Chapman, which has the smallest enrollment and is the only private school in the CCAA, will apply in May to become a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference beginning with the 1993-94 season.

“We need a shot in the arm,” Currey said. “We have not been successful in terms of wins and losses in the conference. Well, what are we going to do about that? We’re going to look for another conference.”

Jerry DeBusk, Boyd’s top assistant the past three seasons, said he has applied for the position. Before coming to Chapman, DeBusk coached at Newport Harbor for 12 seasons, helping the Sailors to three Sea View League titles and six playoff appearances.

Santa Ana Valley Coach Rich Prospero also said he has applied. Prospero, a 1987 graduate of Chapman, was the Panthers’ interim coach in 1988-89, helping them to a 17-12 record and a berth in the conference tournament.

A group of parents of Chapman baseball players are challenging the university’s decision to move to Division III.

The baseball team, which moved to the Division I level this season, may have the most to lose by the change.

On March 11, about 16 parents representing nine players met with Chapman President James Doti to find out how and why the decision had been made. Henry Baker, whose son Chris Briones is a freshman catcher, said the group was concerned that the decision was made without input from the university’s coaches.

Doti has said he intentionally kept coaches out of the process because they naturally would be biased in favor of the status quo. His position has been that Chapman should be competing against institutions of similar size and academic philosophy, and that the change will allow more students to become active in the athletic program.

The group wasn’t satisfied after its two-hour meeting and is now trying to get an appointment with George Argyros, the chairman of the board of trustees. The board of trustees had given Doti approval to study and make the move to Division III. Argyros is out of town until next week.

The baseball parents are also planning to send letters to the parents of the members of the rest of the teams, asking for support.

“Obviously, we have a selfish interest as baseball parents,” said Baker of Brea. “We are trying to save the program for our kids and (Coach) Mike Weathers.”

On the field, the baseball Panthers continue to show they belong in Division I. They have won seven in a row and 15 of their last 18 games to improve to 19-7.

Although Chapman has been dropped in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s national poll after being ranked No. 29, the Panthers are No. 24 in the latest Baseball America poll.

The next two weeks should give an indication of whether the Panthers are able to maintain their ranking and possibly challenge for an at-large berth in the NCAA playoffs.

Starting Friday with a home game against Utah, the Panthers have 10 games in 13 days against Division I teams, including two games against USC, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara and single games with California and UCLA.

“Even without the ranking, I think we have accomplished more than I thought we would this year,” Weathers said. “If we get through the next two weeks, which I think we’re capable of doing, it’s going to be really exciting.”

The Chapman softball team is also doing well this season. The Panthers (15-5), who are ranked No. 13 in Division II, won seven of their 10 games at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla.

They defeated No. 6 Wayne State (Mich.), No. 11 California (Pa.) and No. 20 Shippensburg (Pa.), but lost to No. 1 Bloomsburg (Pa.), No. 4 Florida Southern and No. 14 Sacred Heart (Conn.).

The Panthers’ pitching has been solid thanks to Deann Ford, a sophomore transfer from U.S. International, and Viki Vechinski, a freshman from University of San Diego High. Ford is 8-2 and had a perfect game against Slippery Rock (Pa.) Saturday. Vechinski is 7-3.

The Panthers, the defending CCAA champions, open conference play Saturday with a doubleheader at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Sunday, they will play host to Cal State Hayward, which is ranked fourth with Florida Southern. Tuesday, they play host to No. 2 Cal State Bakersfield in another CCAA doubleheader.

Notes

Rog Middleton was named first-team All-CCAA for the third consecutive season. He was the only Chapman player honored.