by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The program at Monday’s Rotary Club of Jacksonville meeting began with a replay of the video of the end of the March 17 Jacksonville University vs. Arizona State men’s basketball game in the National Invitation Tournament in Tempe, Ariz.
With the local radio play-by-play from JU Assistant Athletics Director Barry Milligan as the soundtrack, club members relived the Dolphins’ upset victory over the top-seeded Sun Devils when Ben Smith hit a 24-foot jump shot with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to seal the 67-66 win. It was JU’s first win in eight postseason appearances dating back to the 1974 NIT.
“I was so excited, I didn’t want to go to replay. I said ‘thank you, Jesus’ and went to the locker room,” said JU men’s basketball Head Coach Cliff Warren.
He and Athletics Director Alan Verlander were the guest speakers at the meeting and shared the story of JU’s performance in sports over the past five years since Verlander was named the school’s AD.
Verlander also recalled his reaction to the triumph in Tempe.
“After the shot, I went up to an NIT guy and shook his hand and said, ‘This is for sure, right?’ He said it was, so I headed to the locker room, too,” said Verlander.
Warren is equally proud of the Dolphins’ consecutive regular season Atlantic Sun Conference championships in the past two years. His first season as head coach three years ago was not even close to exemplary and resulted in a record of one win and 26 losses.
“We had five scholarship players and six walk-ons. You’re not going to win a lot of Division I games like that,” said Verlander.
“Alan Verlander thinks outside the box,” said Warren. “He gave me the opportunity to build the basketball program.”
Verlander said JU has 600 student athletes who compete in 20 sports. The Athletic Department budget has increased from $5.7 million per year when he arrived at the campus five years ago to its present $9.5 million. He also said the student athletes have an average GPA of 3.08 and 63 percent have earned 3.2 or greater.
“Not only are our coaches recruiting student athletes who are making JU proud in sports, they’re also getting it done in the classroom,” said Verlander.
He attributed the success of the program on and off the field to what he called the “CLIO” philosophy.
“It stands for ‘Changing Lives Inside and Out.’ That’s the business we’re in at JU,” said Verlander. “We teach about things like insurance and retirement and personal finances. I believe one of the reasons we’ve had such success is that we focus on everything, not just athletics. We make sure every student athlete is a better person after four years at JU.”
Another goal, he added, is to “make sure they get a championship ring on their finger.” After securing six conference championships in various sports in the decade before Verlander arrived, in the past five years the Dolphins have won 29 championships.
Last year, JU and the University of Utah were the only NCAA Division I schools to win conference championships in football, men’s basketball and baseball.
Verlander said that level of success has created another line item on his department’s budget.
“We spent $86,000 last year for championship rings. That’s the kind of expense I like,” he said.
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