Archives: Note from the Athletic Director: Dr. Micah Parker

After all the success California Baptist University experienced in its first season as a fully-fledged NCAA member, the Lancers took on the challenging task of having to top themselves in 2014-15. For the second year in a row, CBU produced four conference-championship teams, qualified 12 of 19 eligible teams for the NCAA postseason and became the first institution to win the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup three times.

There were new successes along the way. The Lancers jumped up 10 spots in the Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings to 16^th place. CBU was the only school to send both their men’s and women’s basketball teams to the Division II Sweet 16. It was the start of a historic run for women’s basketball, as it became the first program to win an NCAA Division II West Regional championship and ultimately advance to the Division II Championship game.

Cross country set the pace for CBU in the fall by sweeping the PacWest Championships for the second time in four years, giving the school its first two conference crowns of the year. It was the fourth-straight title for the men, which advanced to nationals for the second year in a row. Women’s cross country was also represented at the Division II Championships by an individual (Caroline Barkechir) for the first time. There was more individual honors in store for the Lancers in the fall, with women’s volleyball’s Lauren Hackett being named the PacWest, West Region and Division II Freshman of the Year by the AVCA.

Sweet 16 runs by both basketball teams made for a wildly successful winter for the Lancers, as they were the only Division II institution to send both squads to regional championships. That said, the conference title claimed in the season was women’s swimming/diving repeating in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. It preceded an eighth-place performance in Division II for the aquatics squad, while its male counterparts clinched a top-10 finish.

Both those would have stood for the top showings in the nation for the Lancers if not for a historic, Cinderella run from women’s basketball. The team entered the postseason unranked and rattled one upset after another en route to the championship game. Along the way, CBU ended the longest winning streak in the nation by toppling second-seeded Limestone’s 33-game streak in the semifinals by a score of 85-67.

Good times kept rolling into the spring, with five of the six teams qualifying at least one individual for the NCAA postseason. Women’s golf moved on to the Division II West Regional in consecutive years after bringing home the program’s first conference crown in the PacWest, with men’s golfer Kavan Eubank winning the individual championship. Both baseball and softball advanced to the West Regional for the second year in a row, while both distance track squads sent at least one individual to a national championship and ran away with an All-American. The spring gave cheer the chance to do something no other All-Girl Division II team has done. The Lancers delivered, winning their third-straight National Cheerleaders Association title to remain undefeated since 2013.

A lot was accomplished by California Baptist University Athletics in 2013-14, our first season as a fully-fledged NCAA member. However, there is no such thing as satisfaction in athletics when a new season is waiting right around the corner.

The new season officially kicks off on Thursday when men’s soccer hosts the University of La Verne at 1 p.m., giving us another opportunity to leave a mark on the NCAA and build on our inaugural campaign.

We set the bar high for ourselves last season. Twelve of our teams qualified for the NCAA playoffs, we won four conference championships, our second PacWest Commissioner’s Cup and took 26^th out of 311 Division II institutions in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings.

Like it has always been at CBU, success was measured by more than just athletics last year. A total of 190 of our athletes received academic all-conference honors, our student athletes are graduating at an 80% rate and the 2013-14 graduating class graduated with a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average.

While we accomplished great things together, we know it is only the beginning. We are proud of what our department has accomplished so far, but we are not content. There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon and plenty to watch for this upcoming year.

Men’s cross country is looking to win its fourth PacWest Championship in a row, while men’s basketball, women’s swimming/diving and softball aim at repeating as conference champs this season. Legendary aquatics coach Rick Rowland is four wins away from his 500^th with CBU, as he completes his 16^th and final season as the Lancers men’s water polo and swimming/diving coach before focusing on swim/dive in 2015-16. CBU cheer is aiming to complete its third straight undefeated season and to claim its third consecutive National Cheerleaders Association Championship.

Of course, it is impossible to predict what highlights await us this year. We will just have to wait and see.

A new chapter in the Lancer legacy began in 2013-14, as California Baptist University took a strong first step into the NCAA. It marked the completion of our transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II, as 19 of our 20 athletic programs became eligible for NCAA postseason competition. More than half of our programs seized the opportunity, with 12 qualifying for the playoffs and five posting victories or advancing out of the regional tournament. Thirteen of our squads earned national rankings at one point or another this year, with six cracking the top-10.

All the success led to us winning the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup for the second time in three years since we first joined the conference in 2011-12. We became just the second school to win the Commissioner’s Cup more than once in the process. That was only one of several historic accomplishments this year. Baseball and men’s basketball set new winning streak records of 24 and 16 games, respectively, while wrestling won a program-high 11 duals and cheerleading completed consecutive undefeated seasons with its second National Cheerleaders Association championship in a row. Three of our coaches logged historic victories: women’s soccer’s Kristen St. Clair and softball’s Bill Baber each won their 100th games and baseball’s Gary Adcock claimed his 400th contest with the Lancers this season. We also produced our first individual NCAA champion, as Mary Hanson won the 100-yard backstroke at the Division II Swimming Championships and set a division record of 52.45 seconds in the process.

There were a number of other individual accolades secured by CBU this season. Seventeen Lancers reached All-American status so far, 19 were all-region selections and a total of 158 all-conference honors were doled out to our students-athletes in 2013-14. Within that were 10 conference player of the year awards, five freshmen of the year and three coach of the year distinctions.

Without a doubt, our 20 athletic teams started our journey into the NCAA with plenty of success. I am excited to see what else we can accomplish together over the years to come.

       

 As the 2012-13 athletic season draws to a close, I could not be more impressed by our Lancers and their accomplishments. The Lancers earned four PacWest Championships and finished 2nd in the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup.  Our student-athletes fulfilled facets of the NCAA Division II philosophy by showing outstanding effort in all areas of learning, service, passion, sportsmanship, resourcefulness and balance. This year, all of the programs had a winning record and maintained above a 3.0 grade point average. Their efforts and talents have demonstrated our depth as an athletic program.

 The Lancer Athletics Association (LAA) hosted two impactful events to close out the 2012-13 season. The 3rd Annual Senior Student-Athlete Banquet was held on April 28. We honored 85 students who have completed their athletic eligibility as a Lancer. Haynes Building Service, LLC, was honored with the title of Corporate Sponsor of the Year, and Mr. and Mrs. Pimpanit were selected as Philanthropists of the Year. Our top athletes were also acknowledged, Ingrid Carmona, Women’s Volleyball, was named Outstanding Female Student-Athlete of the Year, and Matt Marnati, Baseball, was named Outstanding Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Former NBA All-Star and coach, Paul Westphal gave an inspiring message about how to judge excellence. On April 29, the LAA hosted the 23rd annual Bruce Hitchcock Lancer Golf Classic. The tournament was sold out with LAA supporters at the Victoria Club in Riverside. The event was a huge success generating record breaking revenue to support our athletics fund. 

 We are proud to say we have completed our three-year transition phase to the NCAA Division II and have submitted our final report to the NCAA . We hope to inform you of our official acceptance into the NCAA in mid-July. The athletics department, and campus in general, look forward to the continued growth of CBU athletics and the continuation of the Lancer legacy.

 As an athletic department, we strive to provide our student-athletes with the best experience in the classroom, on the fields and courts and in the community. We are able to do this in large part because of your generous donations to the Lancer Athletics Association. Your participation does impact the quality of the experience we can provide our student-athletes. You truly are the “Team Behind The Team!”