Stadium Renovations Give Track, Soccer a Boost

Behind him, quite literally, are 23 All-Americans. Their names are on plaques hanging on the office wall.

In front of him is a track-and-field stadium undergoing renovation. The work is expected to be completed by May, maybe sooner. The possibility for hanging more plaques exists.

So from where Coach Vince O’Boyle sits, in a busy room next to what used to be the baseball program’s office, things don’t look so bad.

His men’s track and field and cross-country programs have survived. His women’s teams have thrived. Are things perfect? No. Are they get better? Yes. Proof of that will be this spring, when the first phase of the track/soccer stadium renovations is completed.

The facility is scheduled to be ready in time for the Big West Conference championships in May. O’Boyle hopes it will be ready by early April. Either way, it will be ready for use, by a women’s and men’s team.

There is no irony lost here. Five years ago, the Anteater men’s track and field and cross-country programs were scheduled to go the way of the dodo bird, and the baseball program. It was part of the athletic department’s need to hack more than $500,000 from the budget. Now it’s getting a new facility.

The programs are still intact mainly because of O’Boyle. He is even getting a small helping hand. The athletic department awarded the men’s program a half scholarship--a pittance really, but a gesture O’Boyle saw as magnanimous.

“This is a lot easier than the lean years,” O’Boyle said. “There was a lot of wrist cutting going on, and yelling and screaming and fighting.

“The day they zipped us, [baseball Coach] Mike Gerakos said, ‘That’s it,’ and walked away. He had fought for his program the year before . . . I was a wild man. I went into [Athletic Director] Tom Ford’s office and jumped on his desk. I said, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ He said to calm down. I said, ‘Calm down, this is my job.’ ”

O’Boyle, who begins his 15th season at Irvine on Saturday when the Anteaters compete in the Jack Rose Relays at Long Beach State, has calmed down. He can look back and laugh . . . well, he can look back.

His program survived because of fund-raising by former Irvine athletes, most notably former distance runner Tom Konigh, and through O’Boyle’s negotiating skills. Three months after being axed, the program was reinstated. O’Boyle agreed to work with a small budget that included one assistant coach. He still produced a quality program.

O’Boyle was named the conference’s coach of the year in women’s track last season. He has been conference coach of the year in men’s or women’s cross-country 17 times.

“There was obviously much speculation as to what kind of track program there would be after the spring of 1992,” said Dan Guerrero, who was hired as Irvine’s athletic director in November of 1992. “As far as I was concerned, when I came here everything started at Square 1. Every program started with a clean slate. It became very evident early on that we had a gem in Vince.”

The money is better, but it remains tight.

“The last time they did this was before the [1984] Olympic Games,” O’Boyle said. “They just resurfaced the track, it was nothing to the extent of what they are doing now. But even that boosted the program. Morale got better and we got some pretty good kids in school.

“Then, like everything else that is old, a house, a car tire, it started to go downhill. Now with the money they’re going to put into this thing and the commitment they’re making, I only see very, very good things for the next 10 years.”

The university is spending $600,000-$800,000 on improvements, which include a polyurethane track, a second long-jump pit and a larger high-jump apron. Additional plans include seats to replace concrete stands, lights, concession areas and a press box, according to Guerrero.

It will be used by six athletic teams--men’s and women’s track, men’s and women’s cross-country and men’s and women’s soccer.

The track/soccer stadium is part of a building boom at Irvine. Construction of a 50-meter pool could begin as early as next fall. Plans for a new student recreation center and a renovated weight room are also in the works. Those will be funded through student fees, approved by referendum by the student body last spring. The track stadium construction is being paid for by the university.

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Force fed: Media luncheons with Irvine basketball Coach Rod Baker have been put on hold. Of course, there is only so much a guy can consume. Lunch is being handed to him twice a week, by Big West Conference opponents.

Actually, there is one burning question remaining: What sales pitch will Baker use to retain his job?

His career record is 52-109 in six seasons. This season, the Anteaters are 1-18. He has had one winning season, 15-13 in 1995-96, which some called an underachievement given the team’s talent. Three players bolted last spring, another was dismissed from school. Attendance is down--an all-time low 490 showed up for Thursday’s game against North Texas.

The program seems in worse shape than when Baker inherited it.

So the justification will be Baker’s responsibility at this point. He needs to convince Guerrero that a contract extension is merited. Baker is a talented optimist, but this might be beyond his skills.

Baker, who is in the last year of his contract, has few high points to stress. With six games remaining, he has few opportunities left.

He brought in five freshmen this season, three of whom are starting. He has commitments from three more players for next season. But the let-me-finish-what-I-started pitch, after six years, will likely need more substance.

The Anteaters are two games out of a spot in the conference tournament. Winning that tournament would seem to be the only thing that could save Baker’s job. Then again, that might not be enough.