LBSU anticipation positive

Despite dropping 70 places in the Sears Cup from last year, Long Beach State athletic director Bill Shumard still felt it was an overall positive year for 49er sports with a promising future.

LBSU fell from 43rd place overall in Division-I last year, including first for D-I-AAA (schools without a football program), to 113th this year overall.

"It was disappointing," Shumard said "Considering the fact that we did not get any Sears Cup points for basketball because you don't get any points for going to the NIT so despite the fact we had great seasons in basketball."

According to Shumard the athletic department had some pleasant surprises and few downfalls.

"Men's golf was a nice surprise to see them advance to NCAA tournament play for the first time in a decade," Shumard said. "Bob [Livingstion, LBSU men's golf Head Coach] has been building that program steadily and I'm sure it is where he wants it to be."

Both basketball programs had an outstanding year Shumard said, as both teams qualified for the National Invitational Tournament.

As for the disappointments, Shumard cited the abrupt ends to both the men's volleyball and baseball teams. Shumard said that the men's volleyball team had an excellent chance at going to the NCAA Tournament until the injury to 49er Jim Polster set the team back. The baseball team missed the playoff for the first time in a decade, Shumard said, after being ranked for most of the season.

The athletic department is anticipating an increase in funds with the student Beach Pride fee of $21.

Shumard said that he anticipates roughly $950,000 to be gained by the athletic department. By Shumard's rough estimates, he said that $350,000 will go towards scholarships, $350,000 toward operating expenses and the rest of the $250,000 to pay for improvements to team facilities such as finishing The Pyramid. Money will also be spent for intermuals, pep squad, dance team and the band, Shumard said

"With all of our programs now being fully funded thanks to the referendum," Shumard said, "I think you can look to see all our sports really stepping up to a higher level of competition. It will be interesting to see how quickly that kicks in."

The Big West Conference is being rearranged with only nine schools this year, and the the elimination of the East/West division format. By next July the conference will lose Boise State to the Eastern Athletic Conference WAC and have gained UC Riverside from Division-II and Cal State Northridge from the Big Sky Conference for the 2001-2002 year.

Shumard admitted that men's basketball will be hurt the most by the Big West's changes.  "Those schools [New Mexico State, Nevada, North Texas and Boise State] have a tendency to be very competitive and they will be missed."

The task for the Big West men's basketball teams, Shumard said, has always been improving their game to take it to a new level.

"The challenge in our conference has long been for everybody to step up and be more successful and transcend the league," Shumard said. "We feel that Long Beach State is in a good position to lead the way."
The athletic department is anticipating an increase in funds with the student Beach Pride fee of $21.

Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell said that the loss of Nevada, North Texas and New Mexico State will end football in the conference. "We are going to sponsor a championship for one more year and after that football will cease to become a Big West Championship sport," Farrell said.

New conference member UC Riverside is not a concern of Shumard's the fact that UCR will not be competitive when they enter. "[UCR] is so enthusiastic," Shumard said. "Their student have voted them a large referendum which should make them competitive very quickly."

Farrell agreed saying that UCR has a lot of potential for the conference. "First, it's a member of the University of California system so it's a sister institution to UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine," Farrell said. "And its growth is anticipated to double with in the next few years in enrollment."

Shumard and Farrell also pointed out some advantages of UCR's surrounding area. While Farrell points out that the Inland Empire is a rapidly expanding area, Shumard said that UCR would help LBSU's fan base.

"They play in the Inland Empire that has a lot of our alumni out there and allows us to get closer to our alumni base," Shumard said. He also points out that UCR could also become another natural rival of LBSU.

Shumard said that he is excited about both the men and women's basketball programs in the coming year. "Those programs are fully re-tooled and re-built," Shumard said.

Also on the court are the men and women's volleyball teams that Shumard expects continued success from. "Women's volleyball has that great streak going, three straight Final Four appearances," Shumard said. "In men's volleyball, Long Beach is going to host the Final Four this year, so I am sure the team is going to playing like it's on a mission."

With continued improvement in all sports and the new revenue generated from Beach Pride, Shumard said LBSU is on an upswing. "I think the next couple of years are going to be very exciting for us," Shumard said. "I think next year in particular has a chance of being a great year."