commodore nation

’’DORES SPAN DORES SPAN THE GLOBETHE GLOBE

December 2008

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O NC O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 1vucommodores.com

table of contents

66666666666666666666666666666666

2 Connecting With The Web

4 National Commodore Club

6 In My Words Patrick Benoist

7 Commodores Cubed Know your Commodores

8 Point of View Alex Hilliard

9 Bowled Over Vanderbilt earns coveted sixth win

10 Team Has International Flavor MBB team hails from across the world

13 It’s My Turn — Rod Williamson The Year That Was

15 The Final 4 Jared Hawkins

16 Overcoming Obstacles Swimmer Austin Langley

19 Vanderbilt’s Top FB Wins: 1-5 View the top wins of the modern era

20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams

23 Crosland Finds Unlikely Path Former `Dore makes her mark off

the course

24 The Last Look

2222222223

10

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 82

Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz

Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Ryan Schulz

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Daniel Dubois

Steve Green

Mason Hensley

Stan Jones

Paul J. Levy

John Russell

Contributors: Andy Boggs

John Erck

Alex Hilliard

Larry Leathers

Thomas Samuel

Chris Weinman

Administrative

Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II

Interim Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune

Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and ValuesVanderbilt University is a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. Vanderbilt will uphold the highest standards and be a leader in the quest for new knowledge through scholarship, dissemination of knowledge through teaching and outreach, and creative experimentation of ideas and concepts. In pursuit of these goals, Vanderbilt values most highly intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry; and equality, com-passion and excellence in all endeavors.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity,affirmative action university.

ON THE COVER: Basketball globe (Illustration by Jeremy Teaford; Photos by John Russell)

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322-4114.

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.Jeff Miller, General Manager615/[email protected]

Joe Fisher’s Daily UpdateListen to what the Voice of the Commodores has to say about Vanderbilt on a daily basis. Fisher’s Vanderbilt updates on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone are archived daily.

VUCOMMODORES.COM

Connect with

It’s Good To Be Gold Videos for Vanderbilt’s spring sports were recently added to VU’s newest online addition — www.itsgood-tobegold.com. The site gives fans an inside look at what the student-athletes are like off the fi eld.

Photo StoreDecorate your home or workplace with the purchase of exclusive Van-derbilt photos. The photos range from images of Vanderbilt’s campus and athletic venues to action shots from Vanderbilt’s sporting events.

PodcastsDownload archived audio fi les to your computer or media device. Audio fi les available for download include postgame interviews, weekly news conferences, Joe Fisher’s daily updates and weekly radio interviews.

Reaching for a Higher GoalMatt Long’s rise through the ranks as a triath-lete is proof that hard work can take some-one a long way. I know every Commodore will be pulling for Matt as he takes aim at his Olympic dream. Jim, Nashville, Tenn.

Building ConsistencyI have been most impressed by the continued development of the football program under Bobby Johnson. I have been a lifetime sup-porter of Vanderbilt, and I can’t remember a season I have been more wrapped up in than this year. Heidi, Memphis, Tenn.

The Man Behind the VoiceI enjoyed reading the recent story on Joe Fisher. As someone who no longer lives in Nashville, Joe has been my eyes and ears to Vanderbilt games for a number of years. Some of his calls will be entrenched in my mind forever. It was great to learn more about the person who keeps me close to Vanderbilt even when I’m a far away.

John, Chicago, Ill.

To submit a letter, email CN at: [email protected]. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.

Letters


CORNERCOMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 vucommodores.com

OCT. 25 DUKE GAME

Former receiver Earl Bennett waves to the crowd in the Homecoming Parade. Bennett now plays for the Chicago Bears.

Former Commodores Jay Cutler (left), Chris Williams (center) and Steven Bright return to campus for Homecoming.

Gifts to the NCC from foundation donor-advised funds REQUIRE the donor to decline benefits due to tax laws that govern use of those funds. Under no circumstances will ben-efits be given to donors who have made their NCC gift via funds subject to the laws govern-ing those funds.

Any donor can give to NCC and decline ben-efits. Vanderbilt will issue a receipt that allows 100% deductibility of the gift. However, if you attempt to secure tickets and parking, the NCC will be unable to fulfill that request. If the need for tickets/parking persists, you will be required to write a letter indicating the desire to change your intention from decline to accept benefits.

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS/DECLINING BENEFITS

Vanderbilt Athletics and the National Commodore Club endeavor to endow all athletics scholarships. To help in that task, the NCC has created an endowment level called the Black and Gold Society. Black and Gold Society members create an opportunity for a student-athlete while receiving full benefits of the Dudley Society with a five-year, $100,000 commitment. For more information on the Black and Gold Society and Athletic Scholarship Endowments, please contact John Erck at: [email protected] or 615/322-7922.

JOIN THE BLACK AND GOLD ENDOWMENT SOCIETY


OCT. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE GAMEATHLETIC RENOVATIONS

OCT. 4 AUBURN GAME

Barry Heywood, Jack Whiteaker and Winston Caine spend time with Catherine Johnson, on the fi eld before the game at Mississippi State.

An early drawing of the addition to the McGugin Center. This addition will add a third fl oor the McGugin Center and house the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame. Please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322.4114 to learn how you can contribute to the project.

Richard Patton (left) and John Ingram celebrate the Auburn victory with Coach Bobby Johnson's wife, Catherine.

Carolyn Baker (left) is recognized at the Auburn game by Lucy Jones of the NCC for the commitment she made to Vanderbilt Athletics.

You recently should have received your membership renewal for the National Commodore Club. Please mail it in, call 615/322-4114, click vucommodores.com or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. This year’s membership deadline is May 30 (Vanderbilt’s fiscal year ends June 30). Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt Athletics. Your Membership Matters!

JOIN THE NCC OR RENEW TODAY!

The 2020 Society comprises members of the National Commodore Club, age 40 and younger, who contribute at least $100 annually. If you have been giving to the NCC at this level and are younger than 41, you automatically are in the 2020 Society. The society is a creation of the 2020 Advisory Committee, a group of young alumni committed to increasing young mem-bership in the National Commodore Club and promoting VU Athletics. If you are a non-alumni member of the NCC and qualify for the 2020 Society but have not been notified, please contact Cal Cook at: [email protected] or 615/343-4878.

2020 SOCIETY


In My Words

On earning multiple player of the week

honors this season

It’s been great to receive the honors, but it is even better when the team wins, so luckily all the awards have come after victories.

On seeing the improvement of the

program since he’s been here

It is great to get the respect from the outside, but we’ve always known that we had the talent to do it. It’s been an exciting process that will hopefully continue into the future. On being selected as one of nine

members of the Leadership Council

I’m very honored to be a part of it, and it is just a huge honor to be on the Leadership Council. I feel blessed that my teammates put me in that position, and I just hope to fulfill it.

On being undersized at the position

There are advantages to being small. I get to fit into some of the cracks in the line that some of the big guys can’t. I just have to use my brain a little bit more instead of having to rely on athletic ability.

On how he is able to overcome his size

to make so many tackles

It takes great play from the guys up front, and the defensive linemen have done a great job all year. It just comes down to having a knack for the ball, studying hard throughout the week and then just getting out there and flying to the ball.

On his collection of autographed

NFL jerseys

Every Christmas since eighth grade, my dad has given me an NFL signed and framed jersey. Last year I got Ray Lewis. My favorite one is between Lawrence Taylor and Barry Sanders. Growing up I was a huge Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith guy, and I think every line-backer in the world loves Lawrence Taylor.

Patrick Benoist knows that he’s not

the biggest, strongest or most

athletic linebacker in the SEC,

but what he lacks physically he more

than makes up for with intelligence.

Listed at 6’0”, 222 pounds, Benoist has

turned into one of the SEC’s top line-

backers, ranking among the league

leaders in tackles. His play also has

earned him multiple honors throughout

the season. Against South Carolina, the

junior earned SEC Defensive Player of

the Week and FWAA National Defen-

sive Player of the Week accolades after

registering 15 tackles and one sack. He

was also named SEC Defensive Player

of the Week following a 13-tackle, one-

sack performance against Auburn. His

knack for having some of his biggest

games when the spotlight shines the

brightest is nothing new to Benoist,

who helped Southlake (Texas) Carroll

High School to consecutive Texas 5A

states title in 2004 and 2005.

PatrickBenoist

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL


justinWHEELER

Football

joeDUFFY

Basketball

meganEDDINGS

Soccer

suzanneWETZ

Swimming

Talent I’d most like

to have

I’d like to be able to act

I’d like to be able to be a

musician

Be able to teleport

Singing

Favorite mascot

T.D. of the Miami Dolphins

Phillie Phanatic Mr.

CommodoreMr.

Commodore

Favorite holiday

Christmas Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Christmas

On the walls of my room

are

Posters of Tupac and

Jay-Z

Posters of classic rock

bands

Pictures of all my friends

and familyPhotos

Breakfast, lunch or dinner

Dinner Lunch Dinner Dinner

Funniest teammate

D.J. Moore, Alex

Washington or Brent Trice

Andre Walker Katie Dean Christina Chao

I refuse to eat

________Chit'lin's Goat cheese Coconut Peppers

I spend way too much money on

___________

Sneakers Gas Food Gas

Commodores

j ti joe megan s anne

CubedOn playing at Southlake Carroll HS

It was fun to be that team that everyone wanted to beat. We won (Texas 5A) state titles in 2004 and 2005. It was great to receive the awards and recognition.

On playing high school football

in Texas

There is nothing like Texas high school football. One of the advantages I had when I was getting recruited was that the coaches said that I had played in front of a lot of fans and I was kind of already experienced playing in big game situations. It’s a lot dif-ferent when you play in front of 100,000 fans in the SEC, but I was kind of already use to the stage. Texas high school football is awesome. The whole town kind of sur-rounds your team.

On how frustrating injuries have been

in his career

It has been a little frustrating, but this year I haven’t had to miss a game yet, so that is all that matters to me. The past couple of years, I’ve had to miss a few games, and that is always frustrating when you have to sit on the sideline. I was actually injury-free all throughout high school, so it has been a new thing for me to be injured.

On how he would describe

Vanderbilt’s defense

I would describe us as a fast defense. We just swarm to the ball, have a lot of inten-sity and fun out there and just try to make plays. We are just getting to the ball, and everyone is just having fun. ■


Editor’s Note: Each month “Commodore Nation” will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal interest. Hill-iard is a sophomore outfi elder on the baseball team, who is one of two stu-dent-athletes (Austin Langley) enrolled in Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music.

E ver since I was a child I have been enamored with the idea of playing college baseball, but never in my wild-est imagination did I dream of accomplishing this while

pursuing a dream of music as well. Growing up with an already conceived passion for the game of baseball, I found another passion in the art of music. I progressed with these two skills, working diligently to become the student-athlete or “baseball playing tuba player” I am today.

As many people are aware, varsity athletics at the college level require a large amount of time and commitment, espe-cially when competing in a conference like the Southeastern Conference. What many do not know is that music, at any level, takes the same amount of drive and determination. The balancing of both music and baseball has been an ongoing and diffi cult process ever since I started high school. Both

fi elds require extra work outside that of just a reg-ular music rehearsal or a regular baseball practice. I can specifi cally remem-ber many extra hours, before and after prac-tice in the cages working on my swing. I can also remember those nights leaving Hawkins Field drained and tired only to fi nd myself trekking to the school of music in order to put in the extra work needed to become a profi cient musician.

So, as is shown, the most challenging part of my situation has been to fi nd the time for both

areas. This is where I have been extremely fortunate in coming to Vanderbilt. My ability to do both baseball and music was seen as a commodity by Coach Corbin and Dean Sagen of the Blair School. I would be hard pressed to fi nd another university that would be willing to work with me as well as Coach Corbin, Dean Cyrus and Katie Feyes (academic counselor) have done. Each faction has been completely committed to making sure my child-hood dreams become a reality, and because of their understand-ing and patience in this matter, I am granted the opportunity.

As with any college baseball player, my career goals are geared towards playing major league baseball, although I would still like to continue on my music education track. Once my baseball career is done, I would like to get my doctorate of musical arts in conducting and teach at the college level. I have often been asked if I had to choose baseball or music, which one would it be, and invariably my answer has been and will always be, “both.” ■

Point of View

By Alex Hilliard

Balancing Act

622 Church Street East Brentwood, TN 37027phone: 615-277-4000 fax: 615-277-4653

Toll Free: [email protected]

www.brentwoodsuite.com

★ 57 Luxurious Suites with sitting area, fold-out sofa, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron/ironing board, two phones with data ports, and clock radio

★ 74 cable channels including HBO★ Free High Speed Wireless Internet★ We offer a fitness center with cardiovascular equipment★ A business center with Internet, Copy, and Fax★ Deluxe Complimentary breakfast with Omelets, waffles,

sausage, and other items★ Frequent Stay Program

BRENTWOOD SUITES“An Affordable, Luxury, All-Suite Hotel”


1 The projected SEC fi nish of Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team by the league’s media members and head coaches.

20'9" The distance of the three-point line in men’s college basketball this season— an increase of one foot from previous years.

6 National television appear-ances by Vanderbilt’s football team during the 2008 regular season, the most in school history, surpassing the four appearances in 2005.

9 Vanderbilt’s rank among the top places to work in academia according to the November issue of The Scientist magazine.

0-7 Vanderbilt's all-time record on ESPN2 before its 31-24 win at Kentucky on Nov. 15.

7 Vanderbilt has former student-athletes represented in seven different leagues that compete at the highest level of their respective sport.

3 Schools in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision had a longer bowl drought than Vanderbilt — New Mexico State, Kent State and Temple.

NUMBERSBy TheBy TheBowled Over

Vanderbilt had been close a number of years, posting fi ve wins in two of the last three seasons, including 2007, but

the sixth win had eluded them time and time again. Since the team’s last bowl appear-ance in 1982, Vanderbilt had lost 17 straight games when it had the opportunity to win its sixth game.

That all changed on Nov. 15, when Van-derbilt ended a 26-year bowl drought with a 31-24 win at Kentucky. The win was Vander-bilt’s sixth of the season and locked up the school's fourth-ever bowl bid.

“Honestly, I don't think that I can describe it right now,” quarterback Chris Nickson said fol-lowing the game. “It's an unbelievable feeling, and the best way to describe it right now would be ‘wow.’ That's the best thing I can say. Maybe in a couple of days it will all hit home exactly what happened tonight, but tonight I am in a wow-like emotional state. It's unbelievable.”

With its win at Kentucky, Vanderbilt ended what was the third-longest active bowl drought in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only New Mexico State (1960), Kent State (1972) and Temple (1979) had waited longer than Vanderbilt fans.

Vanderbilt’s offense fl ourished behind the play of Nickson, who returned to the starting

lineup for the fi rst time since Oct. 11 at Mis-sissippi State. The Commodores racked up a season-high 368 yards of total offense, while Nickson set season highs in completions (15), yards (155) and touchdowns (three) through the air. He also accounted for 118 yards on the ground, giving him 273 yards of total offense.

In addition to Nickson’s play, do-it-all-junior D.J. Moore had what was arguably the best game of his Vanderbilt career. Filling in for injured wide receiver Jamie Graham, Moore caught the fi rst two touchdown passes of his career and also picked off two Kentucky passes.

The Commodores built a 24-7 lead in the game, but Kentucky never went away. Trailing by seven with 4:59 to play in the game, the Wildcats marched 54 yards down the fi eld to Vanderbilt’s 23-yard line before Moore inter-cepted Randall Cobb’s fourth-down pass at Vanderbilt’s 17-yard line.

As Moore rolled to the ground with the ball, the excitement that had been bottled up for 26 years erupted throughout Commodore Nation. The roar of Vanderbilt fans was likely heard as far away as Lexington.

“It feels so good to get out and get our sixth win,” Moore said after the game. “We have been waiting awhile to get here after starting the season 5-0. Since then we had gone 0-4 and it feels like a ton of bricks has been taken off our back after this game.”

Besides the fans, no group of individuals may have had a larger weight lifted off their backs then Head Coach Bobby Johnson and his coaching staff. Johnson endured three consecutive two-win seasons to begin his campaign at Vanderbilt and had never won more than three SEC games until 2008.

“I'm not going to lie to you; there is elation in the locker room right now and within our coaching staff,” Johnson said. “We've worked hard, and I'm proud of them for doing that and we went into a slide a little bit, but we came out of it and played well tonight." ■

STA

N J

ON

ES

Compliance questions? Please contact:Candice Storey George Midgett John PeachDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/322-2083 615/[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

Q:

A:

A local TV reporter asks a Vanderbilt football coach about Smash Mouth, a recruit who has verbally committed to the program. The coach tells the TV reporter that Smash is very athletic and will be a great addition to the program next year. Is this permissible?

No. NCAA Bylaw 13.10.2 states that before the signing of a prospective student-athlete to a National Letter of Intent or an institution’s written offer of admission and/or fi nan-cial aid, a member institution may comment publicly only to the extent of confi rming its recruitment of the prospective student-athlete. The institution may not comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or the contribution that the prospective student-athlete might make to the institution’s team; further, the institution is precluded from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospective student-athlete’s signing with that institution.


Hoops Team Has An International Flavor

S ince the Dream Team stormed Barcelona in 1992, basketball has grown internationally unlike any other sport. To see how much the game has grown, college basketball fans need look no fur-

ther than Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team.Of the players on the team, four were born and raised outside of the

United States, including sophomore A.J. Ogilvy (Sydney, Australia), red-shirt freshman Festus Ezeli (Benin City, Nigeria), and freshmen Jeffery Taylor (Norrkoping, Sweden) and Steve Tchiengang (Douala, Cameroon). Including the players from the U.S., Vanderbilt’s roster is comprised of players from fi ve countries, giving the Commodores an international fl a-vor that is almost unseen anywhere else in college basketball.

There are 341 NCAA Division I teams, but just eight have play-ers from fi ve countries. Of those teams, the only other that plays in a BCS conference besides Vanderbilt is Northwestern, which also has players from fi ve countries. The most diverse team is Florida International, which has players from eight countries.

Having players with international ties is nothing new to Kevin Stall-ings, who is in his 10th season at Vanderbilt. Including the current players on the roster, Stallings has had seven players with interna-tional ties on his teams since his arrival in Nashville.

Stallings admits that he doesn’t necessarily focus on recruiting international players, but he acknowledges that the university’s his-tory of having a diverse campus makes Vanderbilt an easier sell for players outside the U.S.

“We are out to recruit the best student-athletes that we can fi nd — and we’ve got a university that strongly urges diversity — and it’s got nothing to do with why we do it, but I think the kids that come from other countries feel welcome here and supported here.”

The other international players to play under Stallings at Vander-bilt were Alan Metcalfe (St. Helens, England), Dawid Przybyszewski (Torun, Poland) and Martin Schnedlitz (Leoben, Austria). Przybysze-wski lettered from 2002 to 2005, while Schnedlitz lettered from 2002-04 and Metcalfe lettered from 2005 to 2008.

However, of those seven players only two, Ogilvy and Przybyszewski, did not play basketball in the U.S. before signing with the Commodores. Of the international players on the roster now, Ezeli and Tchiengang

moved to the U.S. in 2004, and Taylor moved to the country in 2006. Although the four international players on Vanderbilt’s roster admit

that they didn’t know much about Vanderbilt before the recruiting process began, they all were impressed with the university and the track record Stallings had with international players once they began to learn more about the program.

“I didn’t really know too much about any program or their ties to international players,” Ogilvy said. “It was more a learning process for me more than anything, but once I learned Vanderbilt had a couple of international players, I knew it would be a super place to come.”

No player may have been more infl uenced by Vanderbilt’s ties to international players more so than Tchiengang. It wasn’t until Tchien-gang met with former Commodore Davis Nwankwo, whose parents are from Nigeria, that he realized Vanderbilt would be a perfect place for him.

“(Davis) talked to me about how much he enjoyed his time at Van-derbilt, and that kind of infl uenced my decision,” Tchiengang said. “The whole idea that the school had a background of having interna-tional players was really meaningful in me making a decision.”

Stallings and his staff have also made Vanderbilt even more appeal-ing to international students by allowing the players to play for their national teams in the offseason. For example, Ogilvy spent the major-ity of this past summer in Australia training with and trying out for the 2008 Olympic team. Although Ogilvy was one of the fi nal players cut, it proved to others that Vanderbilt would let players pursue their dreams of representing their home country while in school.

“(Having foreign players) showed that they were used to dealing with international players and them playing with their international teams,” Taylor said. “That showed me a lot.”

While Vanderbilt’s roster has more international players than most, Stallings believes that more rosters will begin to look more and more like Vanderbilt’s over time because of how much the game has grown.

“The world of basketball has gotten smaller relative to the NBA Draft, and it’s smaller relative to college basketball, and now it’s get-ting even smaller in high school,” Stallings said. “I just think the bas-ketball world has gotten smaller.”

Ogilvy

Ezeli

Tchiengang

Taylor


Taylor believes that Vanderbilt’s roster is evidence to Stallings claim of how much the game has grown internationally.

“It shows a lot that you have different players from everywhere on earth on one team,” Taylor said. “It shows a lot of diversity and how much the sport has grown.”

Ogilvy, who has more experience playing on the international stage than anyone else on the team, agrees with Taylor.

“I think a team like this defi nitely shows the diversity of the game of basketball. Even until the last Olympics, America hadn’t won (the gold medal) for eight years, so that shows just how strong the game is worldwide now.”

One concern with having a team comprised of players from dif-ferent backgrounds could be communication. However, communi-cation has not been a problem at all according to Tchiengang, who points out that no matter your native country, basketball always will just be basketball.

“I believe that the game of basketball has one language, and no matter where you come from, it is always going to be the same.”

The goal may still be to get the ball in the basket no matter where you play, but having players from all different backgrounds has helped other international players make the transition to Vanderbilt much more smoothly.

“It’s been nice because I know there are guys out there that are in the same shoes that I’m in,” Ezeli said. “It defi nitely makes me feel more comfortable.”

The game of basketball will undoubtedly continue to expand glob-ally, and as long as there are talented players to be had, Stallings has proven that he will bring the best players possible to Nashville — no matter where they are from.

“The bottom line for us is that we need to fi nd 13 guys that are good enough to play basketball at Vanderbilt and they are good enough students to go to school here and succeed,” Stallings said. ■


It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

The Year That Was

W hat are your best memories from the 2008 Commodore year? Here are mine.

Few of us will forget our amazing basket-ball seasons. An extremely young women’s team won 25 games and somehow found a way to climb back into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16—a feat that gave Melanie Bal-comb my vote for our Coach of the Year.

Then there was the trio of remarkable men’s games, part of a perfect home season that rattled the rafters of historic Memo-rial Gymnasium.

The Commodores delivered an early Valentine’s present—better than a box of chocolates—to Kevin Stallings by running Kentucky out of the gym on national television. The fi nal score was 93-52 but it wasn’t that close. Some said that game alone was worth the price of a season ticket.

Nothing, or so we believed, could match the thrill of beating No. 1 Tennessee in a wild and woolly battle just two weeks later. How sweet it was!

Beating the Orange seemed tops until Senior Night when SEC West leader Mississippi State paid a visit. Early in the fi rst half, I recall thinking it was a shame that Shan Foster was struggling in his fi nal home game.

What is the saying? Ninety percent of our worries are wasted effort?

Nine three-point bombs in a row, some launched from West End with one at the buzzer, and Vanderbilt had incredibly edged the Bull-dogs. Shan had a tidy 42 points, and we all were fl abbergasted.

Foster would later become the SEC Player of the Year and win the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, a national honor for athletic prowess, community service and citizenship. He has legend sta-tus around here.

All of us will remember the anticipation and ecstasy of our Game-Day experience. College football’s icon pundits came to town and brought their cameras, just in time to let America see one of our signature victories.

More than 400 of us were on hand as a dozen men and women—stars, visionaries, trail blazers—made history as our fi rst Hall of Fame Class last September. I’ll remember the eloquence of Roy Kramer, the grace of Perry Wallace, the modesty of Clyde Lee, the courage of Bill Wade, the humbleness of everyone and the pride of wearing black and gold on this night of nostalgia.

These recollections come from Dynamite’s Main Street, but another is off the beaten path and didn’t produce a victory.

Last April, I watched one of the great rivalries in the Southeastern Conference—the women’s tennis match between Vanderbilt and Georgia. Both are national powers, and this one came down to the No. 3 singles.

Vanderbilt senior Taka Bertrand carried an 11-match winning streak into battle against the Bulldog’s Monika Dancevic. For two hours and 21 minutes they furiously pounded that fuzzy ball back and forth. Advantage Vanderbilt. Advantage Georgia.

Bertrand, an honor student wearing a gold, sweat-stained shirt that read “Fight Dores” would fi nish her career as our career singles victories leader and a fi rst-team all-SEC pick, but on this day she fell just short in a memorable tie-breaker.

None of us in the capacity crowd wondered how she felt as she slumped on the courtside bench, comforted by Coach Geoff Mac-donald, quietly sobbing for a moment. True champions are hard-wired for victory in everything they do.

It may seem peculiar that a “losing” result makes my highlights. This wasn’t about losing; it was a remarkable demonstration of sheer determination and desire—exactly what you would expect from someone who left a well-rounded legacy of winning and suc-cess. I choose to remember that. ■


JARED HAWKINS• Football• Junior• Running Back

Although he stands just 5-foot-10, 202 pounds, junior running back Jared Hawk-ins, has developed a reputation as one of the most punishing rushers in the SEC.

What was your welcome to the SEC moment?The fi rst game I really played in was against Arkansas my redshirt freshman year (in 2006). I was fortunate to have a good game against them—76 yards on three carries—so that really made me say "wow," and I ended up going on to do well that season.

What do you consider to be your biggest strength at running back?Probably my vision and my ability to fi nd holes. I just feel like it is something that God blessed me with, and I just try to take advantage of it. I’ve never been the biggest guy on the fi eld, but I’ve always been able to fi nd holes and get to them.

What was the best part about playing high school football in Texas?I think it was just the atmosphere. I also grew up in Florida and in Pennsylvania. I have an older brother and sister, so I was able to go to high school games in those places. When I got to Texas, the atmo-sphere was completely different.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?It is probably something my dad (Jeff) al-ways told me about anything in life, but it always comes back to football: "The cream will rise to the top." Every offsea-son I’ve always tried to worker harder than anybody on my team or anyone else around me because no matter what, there is always going to be someone better out there and someone gunning for your position. My dad has always in-stilled in me that whenever you are work-ing on something, just do it to the best of your ability.

The Final 44


Austin Langley is used to challenges. She’s challenged daily in Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and as a mem-

ber of Vanderbilt’s swimming team. However, none of those challenges stack up to a rela-tively unknown challenge that Langley has faced her entire life.

Since birth, Langley has had to deal with a severe low-tone hearing loss — something that makes her enrollment in the Blair School that much more remarkable. While most indi-viduals with hearing loss struggle to hear high tones, such as whistling, the Vanderbilt soph-omore is just the opposite.

“As you get older, most people naturally lose their high tones because they are unpro-tected,” Langley said. “I don’t have any low tones or conversational tones and the protec-tive part is gone and they don’t really know why. It is really kind of uncommon to have it reversed like that.”

Langley’s hearing loss is hereditary on her father’s side of the family, with her father and grandfather also having low-tone hearing loss.

"Low-frequency hearing loss is typically seen in individuals with hereditary factors or middle ear pathologies," said Meredith Moss, a clinical audiologist at Vanderbilt. "High-fre-

quency hearing loss is much more common as it is seen in most individuals with age-related hearing loss and noise exposure."

Although she’s had hearing loss since birth, it wasn’t discovered until fi rst grade when Langley was failing all of her spelling tests.

It was then that her father taught her about another way to compensate for her loss of hearing.

“That is when my dad explained to me that if I watch what someone is saying, you might be able to fi gure out what letter they are say-ing,” Langley commented.

Since then, Langley has combined her abil-ity to read lips with what she has been able to hear, to understand people.

“I hear every fi fth or sixth syllable, so I pair that with what I see to understand what someone is saying,” Langley said. “It is vari-able depending on the situation, but in gen-eral that is the way it works.”

While the process would seem unnat-ural to most, it is completely natural for Langley and others in her family who have the same condition.

“You kind of just grow up reading lips when you need to,” Langley said. “My dad reads lips really well, and so does my grandfather. My grandfather almost needs no sound at all

to understand what you are saying. My dad probably hears every seventh or eighth sylla-ble and he is pairing that with what he is see-ing to help him fi gure out what is being said.”

As natural as the process has become for Langley, there still are times when she has trouble understanding what others are say-ing. One example of this is in the classroom when a professor will talk softly or talk with his or her back to her. Even sitting in the front of the room, as she does in all of her classes, is useless in those situations.

Instances such as that have been new chal-lenges for Langley since she arrived at Van-derbilt. Before college, Langley could always get by with just teaching herself, reading the book or asking classmates questions about what the teacher explained in class.

“In high school (my hearing loss) wasn’t really an issue in class,” Langley said. “I knew it was there, but it didn’t really affect anything. When I got to college, let me tell you, my pro-fessors don’t talk loud enough.”

The class where Langley was most affected was her calculus class the fi rst semester of her freshman year.

“My professor’s shoes squeaked louder than his voice,” Langley said. “He’d always face the board, so I couldn’t lip read or do anything to help myself. I didn’t know what to do. As a result, I did not do well on the fi rst two tests at all.”

Feeling helpless and realizing that the class was getting away from her, Langley turned to her academic adviser, Katie Berglund, for assistance. In turn, the athletic department was able to purchase an FM Listening Sys-tem for Langley.

What the system does for Langley is mag-nify the sound of the teacher’s voice. For the system to work, Langley has the professor wear a device that looks like a lapel micro-phone, while she wears an earpiece. Since beginning to use the device, Langley has seen a tremendous spike in her performance in the classroom.

“After I got an FM System, the fi rst test I did well on. It’s made a huge difference and has been very helpful.”

The improvement Langley had in the class-room with the FM Listening System may make it seem logical for Langley to wear a hearing aid, but it isn’t that easy according to her.

“Nowadays they can pick frequencies to be amplifi ed on hearing aids, but they are still going to amplify the high tones, which is a problem for me,” Langley said. “They can turn them down. The only other problem is that, if I can hear the high tones, I don’t want to listen to it through a microphone because it has a dif-ferent sound. If you turn the hearing aid com-pletely off, it works as an earplug so it makes it worse. They are trying to fi nd a way to over-come that situation and once they get that, then I might be interested in hearing aids.”

Moss believes that time may not be too far away.

Langley Overcomes Obstacles

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN


"With the advent of digital, multi-channel, nonlinear hearing aids that offer greater fl ex-ibility of adjustment, it is possible for audiolo-gists to fi t this type of hearing loss more suc-cessfully," Moss said.

Some people may let their hearing loss keep them from doing what they love, but not Langley. The best example of this may be her love of music, which is why she is enrolled in the Blair School as a saxophone player. Since the saxophone emits high tones, Langley is able to hear her own music fi ne. It is the music of other instruments, particularly those that play bass, that she is unable to hear.

“I guess in high school I always just played my instrument because it is in a range that I can hear,” Langley said. “I never really bothered with listening for other instruments and bal-ance. I just kind of followed the director, and in private lessons I could hear my instruments.”

However, Langley quickly realized how much of a challenge it would be for her to excel in certain classes within her major because of her inability to hear bass.

“Last year, I had to hear and write out chords in my music theory class and that was the hardest thing for me because I couldn’t hear the bass unless I sat there and really focused,” Langley said. “I got speakers in my room with a subwoofer and I would put my feet on the subwoofer and turn up the bass as loud as it could go so I could feel it. That’s how I’d get my home-work done. I couldn’t do it with regular headphones because with regular head-phones, I couldn’t hear the bass at all.”

Although swimming isn’t necessarily a sport where you would think communication would be key, there are defi nitely times that present challenges for Langley, who special-izes in the backstroke and 200 IM.

“Yes, it is a challenge,” Langley said. “Sometimes I can’t hear the set, and I get really frustrated because I didn’t hear the set and you have 30 seconds before you have to go. Especially if I’m going fi rst that day and I don’t know what’s going on, it is really bad and I get really frustrated.”

It is obvious that Langley’s hearing loss hasn’t stopped her from achieving her goals, and she doesn’t plan on letting it slow her down anytime soon.

“It is very impressive for Austin to balance swimming and the Blair School,” swimming Coach Jeremy Organ said. “There are not enough hours in the day for Austin to get everything done. Her time management skills are put to the test each and every day. I think that music and swimming are very similar in that they both require prac-ticing perfection every day, and that daily practice all leads up to a concert or a com-petition where your success is gauged by your performance.”

Langley’s ability to balance so many things at once, while overcoming her hear-ing loss, has led to her teammates respecting Langley even more.

“I think that everyone on the team respects Austin that much more because of all she does and has to deal with on a daily basis,” Organ said.

Even though she still is just a sophomore, Langley already has more than just the next two years of her life mapped out. This past summer, Langley found her true calling when she was in Norway with 4-H. During that time, she worked at a dairy farm.

“I’ve always really enjoyed being around animals, and this summer I decided that I really want to work around animals for my career,” Langley said. “I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian and that I’m going to pursue the pre-vet track here. It’s going to be kind of dif-fi cult though because I’m a little behind, and I haven’t had science since high school.”

Langley’s interest in pursuing a career as a veterinarian also led to her question whether she should return to Vanderbilt before the start of this year. After all, the university does not offer the necessary classes to directly enter vet school, and she would have a lot of catching up to do.

“I decided that I really shouldn’t leave Vanderbilt because there was so much here for me between swimming and music,” Langley said.

Because she lacks the classes that would be necessary for her to get directly into vet school following graduation, Langley already has her eyes set on attending graduate school before “hopefully” returning to North Carolina to attend vet school at N.C. State.

The journey to become a vet may look long and winding for most students, but for some-one like Langley, it would be hard to believe she would want it to be any other way. ■


Ranking Vanderbilt’s Top Five WinsIn the November issue of Commodore Nation, we revealed the bottom half of Vanderbilt’s top 10 football wins of the modern era

(1936-present), as voted on vucommodores.com. In this issue of Commodore Nation, we reveal the fi ve games that received the most votes. There were a total of 15 games in the poll, each of which received at least one fi rst-place vote. Please note that none of

the games from the 2008 season were included in this poll. To calculate the results, points were rewarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. First-place votes are in parenthesis.

Cornerback D.J. Moore

Offensive Tackle Rob Monaco

Head Coach Art Guepe (right)

Quarterback Whit Taylor

Quarterback Jay Cutler

5. Oct. 20, 2007 • Vanderbilt 17, #6 South Carolina 6 • Columbia, S.C. 1,762 points (29)

4. Oct. 9, 1982 • Vanderbilt 31, #14 Florida 29 • Nashville 1,985 points(14)

3. Dec. 31, 1955 • Vanderbilt 25, #8 Auburn 13 • Gator Bowl 2,028 points (48)

2. Nov. 27, 1982 • Vanderbilt 28, Tennessee 21 • Nashville, Tenn. 2,101 points (51)

1. Nov. 19, 2005 • Vanderbilt 28, Tennessee 24 • Knoxville, Tenn. 3,657 points (228)

Vanderbilt’s 17-6 win at No. 6 South Carolina tied for the high-est-ranked opponent Vanderbilt has ever defeated. It also was VU’s first win over Steve Spurrier in 15 tries and its first road win over a top 10 team. VU’s defense keyed the win by holding South Carolina to 26 yards rushing and tied a school record with seven sacks. Cornerback D.J. Moore, a South Carolina native, had two interceptions and eight tackles. On offense, quarterback Mackenzi Adams had two touch-down passes and rushed for 84 yards in his first-career start.

Thanks in part to outstanding field position, the Commo-dores built a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and then held the Gamecocks to two field goals the rest of the game. The win was extra sweet for Head Coach Bobby Johnson, a Columbia native. "I’m sure that people thought we’d fold in the second half here,” Johnson said. “But we didn’t. We came back and played great, maybe better than in the first half. That’s a misconception about Vanderbilt. They do everything they possibly can to try and win.”

Leading 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt’s All-SEC offensive tackle Rob Monaco recovered a Vanderbilt fumble in the end zone for a game-clinching touchdown in Vander-bilt’s 31-29 win over No. 14 Florida. The win was Vanderbilt’s first conference victory at home in seven years and spurred VU to the Hall of Fame Bowl. Few gave Vanderbilt a chance going into the game, especially after losing the team’s lead-ing rusher, Ernie Goolsby, for the season after VU’s win the previous week against Tulane. However, Vanderbilt Head

Coach George MacIntyre had other plans. Vanderbilt took a 21-14 lead into the locker room and then led 24-21 before Monaco’s touchdown. Monaco’s touchdown occurred when an errant throw caromed off the shoulder pads of Jim Popp and landed in the arms of Phil Roach. As Roach tried to avoid a tackler, the ball sprang free and Monaco pounced on it just inches from the end line. Whit Taylor completed 30 of 47 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 64 yards.

Playing in the first bowl game in school history, Vanderbilt pulled one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season when it knocked off No. 8 Auburn, 25-13, in a game that aired nationally on CBS and remains Vanderbilt’s only bowl win. Vanderbilt entered the game as a 7-point underdog and was the only unranked team in a major bowl. Little chance was given to VU, which was not only coming off a regular sea-son loss to Tennessee, but also was entering the game with much uncertainty at quarterback after Don Orr dislocated his elbow in the loss to the Vols. Because of the uncertainty, VU practiced as if Orr would not play. It wasn’t until just

before kickoff that Head Coach Art Guepe made the deci-sion that he would start Orr, and the Miami native didn’t make him regret it. Orr was selected as the Gator Bowl MVP after rushing for two touchdowns and passing for another. “I knew I was completely well,” Orr said, “and throughout the time we were getting ready I kept pray-ing my arm would hold up. It did, and naturally this is the biggest thriller of my life.” Vanderbilt also capitalized on five fumble recoveries and built a 25-7 lead with 14:55 to play. “I thought Vanderbilt was the best team we played all season,” Auburn Head Coach Shug Jordan said.

Dubbed the “Super Bowl of Tennessee,” the game lived up to its billing as the lead changed hands throughout the game with neither team able to establish more than a seven-point lead. After Whit Taylor connected with Phil Roach for 65 yards, Taylor perfectly executed a fake to fullback Keith Edwards and strolled around right end to give VU the game-clinching lead with 3:00 left in a 28-21 win over Tennes-see. The win was the Commodores’ fifth straight and sent the team to the Hall of Fame Bowl with an 8-3 record and

6-0 mark at home. The win was Vanderbilt’s first home win against the Vols since 1964 and remained the last home win over Tennessee heading into the 2008 season. “Before the game, I told our guys that they were the best team in college football,” Head Coach George MacIntyre said. “Today they proved to everyone what they are made of. I’ve never been prouder of a group of young men.” Later that season, MacIntyre was named National Coach of the Year by The Sporting News.

Jay Cutler’s final pass as a Commodore will be remem-bered forever. With 1:11 to play at Tennessee, Cutler hit wide receiver Earl Bennett from five yards out to cement a 28-24 win. The win snapped a 14-game skid at Tennessee and assured that the Vols wouldn’t go to a bowl game for the first time since 1988. The win also ended what was the second-longest losing streak between major teams in the FBS. “You see grown men crying and you realize how long it’s been since we’ve won,” Cutler said. “It tells us how much it means to this program.” Cutler finished 27-of-39 for 315 yards and

three touchdowns. Bennett had 14 catches for 167 yards. Linebacker Moses Osemwegie led the defense with a career-high 16 tackles. Vanderbilt was ahead 21-7 in the second quarter, but the Vols rallied and took a 24-21 lead with 8:25 to play. The teams exchanged punts several times during the final minutes before Cutler connected with Bennett on all three plays of the game-winning 63-yard drive. “To turn the corner, you’ve got to believe, and I’m not saying we’ve turned the corner, but our guys are starting to believe,” Bobby Johnson said.

Games Voted 6-10: 10. 1937 - Vanderbilt 7, #6 LSU 6; 9. 1984 - Vanderbilt 30, Alabama 21; 8. 1969 - Vanderbilt 14, #13 Alabama 10; (Nov. Issue) 7. 1975 - Vanderbilt 17, Tennessee 14; 6. 2006 - Vanderbilt 24, #16 Georgia 22


MEN’S SPORTSBaseball

• The Gold team won the clinching game Black and Gold Series on Oct. 26 by a score of 10-6. • Former Commodore David Price was honored during the coin toss at the Florida football game.

Basketball• Kevin Stallings announced

the signing of John Jenkins (Gallatin, Tenn.) to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 12.

• Sophomore A.J. Ogilvy was a fi rst-team All-SEC pre-season selection by the league’s media members and coaches.

• The team was picked to fi nish fourth in the SEC East.

Cross Country• Vanderbilt fi nished 13th at the

NCAA South Regional Cham-pionship on Nov. 15.

• Thomas Davis and Rob Whit-ing guided Vanderbilt by plac-ing 65th and 66th, respective-ly, at the championship.

• Davis also led the Commodores at the SEC Championships in Starkville, Miss., with a time of 25:25:33.

• The team fi nished 11th at the SEC Champi-onships with 292 points.

Football• Vanderbilt became bowl eli-

gible for the fi rst time since 1982.

• D.J. Moore earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Walter Camp Foundation on Nov. 16.

• Patrick Benoist was selected to the fi rst team Academic All-District IV Team, while John Stokes earned second team honors.

• Moore was named a semifi nalist for the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award on Nov. 4.

• Junior Brett Upson was named SEC Spe-cialist of the Week for the second time this year after his performance at Georgia, av-eraging 44.6 yards on seven punts.

• Vanderbilt made its school-record fi fth ap-pearance on an ESPN network on Nov. 15 at Kentucky.

Golf• Tom Shaw announced the

signing of Ryan Thornton (Chattanooga) and Will Snipes (Dalton, Ga.) to Na-tional Letters of Intent on Nov. 13.

• Junior Hudson Johnson earned medalist honors at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate on Nov. 4.

• During the fi nal round, Johnson carded a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole, which helped him overcome a four-stroke defi cit with four holes to play.

• Senior Jon Curran tied for ninth at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate on Oct. 26.

• The Commodores will start the spring sea-son Feb. 23-24 in Orlando at the Western Carolina Intercollegiate Tournament.

Tennis Ian Duvenhage announced • the signing of Ryan Lipman (Nashville) and Sam Wells (Boca Raton, Fla.) to Na-tional Letters of Intent on Nov. 13. Sophomore Alex Zotov won • the singles title at the Crimson Tide Fall Championships on Oct. 26. Zotov defeat-ed Alabama’s Michael Jung on the fi nal day 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Adam Baker and Zotov advanced to the • semifi nals in doubles competition at the Crimson Tide Fall Championships. Also advancing to the singles fi nal of their • draw were Alex DiValerio and James Moye.

WOMEN’S SPORTSBasketball• Melanie Balcomb announced

the signing of Elan Brown (At-lanta), Tiffany Clarke (Duluth, Ga.), Stephanie Holzer (New-town Square, Pa.) and Gabby Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio) to National Letters of Intent on Nov. 13.

• Vanderbilt was predicted to win the 2009 SEC women’s basketball championship by the coaches and the media.

• Senior Christina Wirth was named preseason SEC Co-Player of the Year by the league’s media.

• Wirth also earned preseason fi rst team All-SEC honors from the coaches and the media.

• Junior Jennifer Risper was a preseason sec-ond-team All-SEC selection by the coaches.

• The team was ranked 12th in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll and Associ-ated Press Poll.

Bowling• The Commodores captured

the team championship at the FDU Fright Knight Invite on Nov. 2.

• Vanderbilt opened the sea-son rated No. 2 in the country after a vote by members of the National Ten Pin Coaches Association.

Cross Country• Vanderbilt placed seventh at the

NCAA South Regional Champi-onship on Nov. 15.

• Sophomore Rita Jorgensen was named to the USTFCCCA All-Region Team after placing 14th at the championship.

• Jorgensen also led the Commodores at the SEC Championships on Nov. 3 by fi nishing in the top 20.

• Sophomore Kristabel Doebel-Hickok placed 22nd overall at the SEC Champion-ships with a time of 21:38.89.

• The team fi nished eighth for a second year in a row with 177 points.

Golf• Vanderbilt advanced to the

fi nals of the consolation bracket at the NGCA Match Play Championship, before falling to Kent State.

• The Commodores will open spring competition March 2-3 at the Pinehurst Challenge.

Soccer• Sophomore Molly Kinsella

and freshman Candace West earned All-SEC honors Nov. 4.

• Kinsella earned fi rst-team All-SEC accolades, while West was selected to the All-Fresh-man team.

• Kinsella also earned second team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV accolades.

• Senior Taylor Ryer was selected to the SEC Soccer Community Service Team.

• The Commodores fi nished the season with a 9-8-2 overall record.

Swimming• Vanderbilt was honored for its

academics by being selected as an Academic All-America Team by the College Swim-ming Coaches Association of America.

• Vanderbilt’s team GPA of 3.535 ranked fi fth nationally among NCAA Division I women’s swimming programs.

• Allie Voss, Jennifer Molchan and Laura Dillon posted personal bests at the Phil Hansel Duals.

Tennis• Keilly Ulery, Catherine New-

man, and Jackie Wu ad-vanced to the quarterfi nals of the main singles draw at the ITA Southeast Regionals in Winston-Salem, N.C.

• Chelsea Preeg and Hannah Blatt posted 3-0 singles records at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic.

GeoffMacdonald

GregAllen

IanDuvenhage

Tom Shaw

KevinStallings

TimCorbin

Quick Hits

JohnWilliamson

BobbyJohnson

SteveKeith

SteveKeith

RonnieCoveleskie

MelanieBalcomb

JeremyOrgan


The Month Ahead

Men’s SportsBasketball12/3 Illinois-Chicago 7pm12/6 at Georgia Tech 1pm12/10 Alabama A&M 7pm12/16 South Florida (Sommet Center) 6pm12/20 Tennessee Tech 5pm12/22 Furman 8pm12/31 Saint Francis, Pa. 12pm

Women’s SportsBasketball12/2 Radford 7pm12/4 at Cal State Fullerton 9pm12/6 at UC Riverside 6pm12/19 Tennessee State 7pm12/21 Tennessee-Martin 2pm12/22 Liberty 2pm12/30 Notre Dame 7pm

Bowling12/6-7 at Jeanette Lee Invitational (Lawrenceville, Va.) All Day

Jermaine Beal Jennifer Risper 2008 Bowling Team


How does someone who majors in eco-nomics and minors

in math end up working in broadcasting? That’s the question that former Vanderbilt women’s golfer Mallory Crosland even wonders at times.

Now the senior producer of broadcasting for PGA of America, Crosland’s career path has taken her some-where she least would have expected during her tenure at Vanderbilt, where she graduated in 1999 after becoming the fi rst golfer, men’s or women’s, to advance to the NCAA Championship.

“I steered away from all the writing classes (in college) because I just fi gured I was going to become a consultant or an investment banker,” Crosland said. “I’m really glad I didn’t right now. I took a couple of communications classes, but I never really thought this was the path I was going to go down.”

However, during the summer before her senior year at Vanderbilt, Crosland’s career interests changed following an internship. A native of Washington, D.C., Crosland returned home and interned with the sports department at the local NBC affi liate (WRC-TV). At the station, Crosland worked under the infamous George Michael, who hosted the "George Michael Sports Machine" from 1980-2007.

“Growing up in Washington, D.C., I was a huge Redskins fan, so one of the lures that summer was that you got to go out and help with coverage of Redskins training camp,” Crosland recalled.

“I also helped at what used to be called the Kemper Open on the PGA Tour, and that’s what really opened my eyes and made me realize that it was pretty cool.”

Even with her interest level piqued, Crosland knew it would be a reach to land a job in television with such little experience or the necessary coursework. Instead, Crosland landed a job with Lloyd’s of London in England after tossing around the idea of giv-ing it a run on the LPGA Futures Tour.

Little did she know, her big break would come across the Atlantic Ocean.

“When I was over there, (George Michael) came over on a vaca-tion, and he and his wife took me to dinner and asked me what I was doing next,” Crosland said. “He said one woman on his staff was pregnant and announced she wasn’t coming back, so he wanted to know if I was interested. I didn’t even have to worry about interviewing or anything, so the timing just worked out.”

For the next six years, Crosland worked for Michael’s on the "Sports Machine," which aired nationally every Sunday night. Cro-sland also produced a Redskins show.

Crosland made the move to her current position with the PGA of America in 2007 after the "Sports Machine" aired for the fi nal time in March of 2007.

Now at her current job in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Crosland oversees different video productions with the PGA of America. Just this past September, she oversaw the production of the Ryder Cup gala night in Louisville, Ky. Crosland also helps produce vari-ous award shows for presentations such as the PGA First Lady of Golf Award and the Distinguished Service Award. Among the other notable events the PGA of America is responsible for are the PGA Championship and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

“I always knew that I’d be happiest if golf was somehow involved in my career,” Crosland said. “I don’t know if it is a job to get rich off of, but you get to wake up every day and be excited to go to work.” ■

Crosland’s Career Path Returns Her To Golf

Crosland with the Ryder Cup.


DA

NIE

L D

UB

OIS

PANORAMIC VIEWThe sun sets in Nashville as 38,773 look on during Vanderbilt’s 14-13 win over Auburn. This photo and dozens more are available for purchase by visiting the photo store on vucommodores.com.

The Last Look

commodore nation - dec. 2008

Documents

o d o r e n

d e c e

i o nc o

vanderbilt values

vanderbilt universityeditor

vanderbilt isp sports

fishers vanderbilt updates